RWBY future AU, The Great War
by zachlorthan
Summary: Alright, so, in the middle of rewriting this series. First four chapters have been redone. RWBY is in a new lvl of hell, with stronger enemies, powerful emotions, and a handful of new friends. spacing for the chapters is a little weird, wont let it keep the spacing i input.
1. Begining of the end

Ruby gave a wild cry as she swung her scythe, voice full of anguish and hate as she struggled to reach her comrade. She had seen Weiss go down under the tidal wave of Beowulfs that had ambushed them.

The sound of Yang's gauntlets, Ember Celica, rang out repeatedly, her sister giving constant enraged shouts as she fired shot after shot. She had to be nearly out of ammo, but in her current state of mind, Yang clearly no longer cared. Blake spun fluidly through the clumsy creatures that fell under her swift but sure blows, keeping back the monsters that threatened to overrun Yang, who cared little that they were so close to death.

She mashed her fist into the gut of an overzealous Beowulf, it's back blowing out as the Dust covered buckshot punched through the flesh. Blake tried to snap her out of it.  
"Yang, we need to move, now."  
"YOU WANT SOME, YOU MOTHERFUCKINGPEICESOFSHIT!" was Yang's only response. She either couldn't hear Blake, or decided to ignore her. Her path was marked by a wave of shimmering air,caused by the flames breaking out around her.  
Blake tried one last time, "Yang-" but she was cut off as Yang dove past her, her gauntlets slamming down onto the head of one of the Grimms. The Grimm exploded.

A foul stench filled the air as Grimm flesh flew, dissolving as it went. Blake flinched as a bit of skin smacked her in the face, disappearing a second later. In the moment of distraction, one of the Beowulfs got a shot in, throwing her back. She landed at Yang's feet, and their eyes met. Blake found herself hypnotized by the solid scarlet color of her partner's hatred-filled eyes.

Yang leaped over her, tackling the Beowulf, straddling the creatures chest and punching it's face repeatedly. It was dissolving even as she continued to punch, and Blake had to drag her off the carcass. She jumped back as Yang almost swung at her, her vision blurred by her anger, and Blake wondered briefly which one had touched her hair.

Ruby reached Weiss, her scythe spinning as she flung back the creatures that stood over her partner. Luckily, Weiss's aura had held, just. She reached down, lifting Weiss, who winced at the pressure on her arm. Ruby had her in a death grip.

She shrugged her off, shouting "I told Yang it was a bad idea to go this way!" Her rapier, Myrtenaster, flashed in her hand, and a line of fire incinerated half a dozen of the beasts. Ruby merely shook her head, resigned to her best friend's capabilities for shrugging off the horror of seconds before.

"Come on, we need to get back to Blake and Yang," she said, fighting her way through the shallow group of enemies that had closed in between her and her team mates. Blake had managed to widen a circle around Yang, and the pair managed to slip into it.

the group moved back to back, the pack withdrawing as it prepared for a secondary assault. Yang cocked her gauntlets, the spent shell casings flying out with a resounding 'ping', before burying themselves in the snow at her feet, the semi-liquid hissing at the touch of the hot metal.

She had calmed the slightest bit, and she loaded her last belts into the gauntlets, realizing that she had wasted too much on the few she had actually managed to kill. Blake dropped the empty magazine from Gambol Shroud's hilt, sliding in another as she assessed the situation. Of the group, she had the most ammunition left in reserve, though it was all normal rounds, having spent her last Dust rounds protecting Yang.

She was glad, in a way, that she might go out this way, fighting along side the only real family she had ever known. Weiss was calculating, trying to decide if she could use what little Dust she had left to try carving a path through the creatures, but she knew she didn't have enough. Ruby was calm, despite the exhaustion gnawing at her insides. she trembled slightly, a testament to her training.

"Yang, I want you and Weiss to focus on finding the Alpha. If we can put it down, we have a chance. Blake, you and I will try to hold the attention of the pack, since we have the best weapon reach and arc. Alright, GO!"

Yang nodded, shouting "I'm on it, sis!" as she took off, using twin blasts from her gauntlets to launch herself into the air, landing on a glyph that appeared beneath her. Weiss made a ring of glyphs around the crowd, and Yang began to dash along them, her eyes scanning the massive crowd of black fur and red eyes. Whenever she saw a plausible target, she fired a concentrated round at it, killing it and wounding anything within 3 feet of the blast.

Ruby dug the blade of Crescent Rose into the snow at her feet, and began to fire from a standing position, Beowulfs falling in scores as the bullets passed through at least three before slowing in velocity. Due to her growth spurt, she had been forced to increase the caliber and powder charge of Crescent Rose's rounds, to make up for the extra weight she had to maneuver when performing her acrobatics. The Beowulfs made a second advance, pushing forward to try and rip the girls to shreds.

Blake began her complex motions, Gambol Shroud blazing in her hands as she flung it, cutting into a mature male Beowulf, the pistol in the hilt going off with it's usual almighty bang, flinging the blade the opposite direction as Blake began to dance with it, slicing beast after beast to ribbons. The smell of gunpowder burned her nose, her heightened senses scorched by the heat of battle.

Blake and Ruby took turns playing offense, allowing one of them to catch their breath while the other was in the midst of the fray.

Yang finally spotted the Alpha, huddled in the middle of a group of large males, and she cocked her arm to fire. But before she could, a Beowulf leaped up underneath her like a shark, slashing it's claws through the glyph, ripping it apart. Yang's shot went wild, slamming into the ground at Weiss's feet, then blowing up in her face.

Weiss was thrown backwards, barely managing to keep her balance as she slid to a stop. Yang fell towards the crowd of Beowulfs below her, spinning in the air as she redirected her blasts straight down. The explosive metal peppered the Beowulfs, blowing them to pieces, but she felt the slight unhappy vibration in her wrists as her gauntlets ran dry, the last of her ammunition wasted.

'Fuck' was her only thought as she back flipped along the ground, stopping next to Weiss, who was not happy.  
The edges of her pony tail were singed, and she shouted, "watch where you point those things, you dolt."

Back at Beacon, such a comment would have sent Yang into an explosive rage, but now the words were hollow, a shadow of a habit. Her voice was dry, trembling from exhaustion.  
"Pay more attention to the enemy, then," was Yang's reply, her attempt at a snarl coming across as an exasperated wheeze.

Ruby flinched as she heard the audible click that meant she had miscounted how many rounds she had fired. She dropped the spent magazine, reaching for another only to remember that it had been her last. She readied herself to go close quarters, but could already feel her muscles burning from exhaustion.

They had been on the road for months, and none of the group had had a decent nights rest in more than 2 weeks. Suddenly, she found herself wondering if it was the end. 'One stupid mistake, and I get my entire team, and remaining family, killed' she thought to herself, raising her scythe to strike at the incoming hoard.

But before she had the chance, something blazed above her head, and she heard a familiar sound. Almost unable to believe it, she looked up, seeing something that was much more terrifying than the sea of Grimm creatures bearing down on her.

Nora came streaking down from a tree, giving a wild laugh as she brought her hammer down on top of a Beowulf, crushing it into the world's largest (and most disgusting) pancake. Right behind her was Ren, Storm Flowers blazing as they fired Dust rounds at a cycling rate Ruby had never been able to duplicate. Scores of Beowulfs fell under the withering hail of explosive ammunition.

Pyrrha followed soon after, her spear and shield, Miló and Akoúo, in the form of a Roman Gladius, glinting in the dying light of the evening sun as it decapitated three Grimm in a single blow. A Grimm rose up behind her, claws raised as it prepared to slash, but Ruby jumped onto it's back, scythe crashing down onto the Beowulf's head, crushing its skull.

Pyrrha gave a nod of thanks, then turned back. The hoard had dwindled since the fight had began, but was still of formidable size. Nora swung her hammer with both grace and tenacity, crushing Grimms with ease under the heavy instrument. Ren danced around her, always covering her back. His guns shifted in his hands, and suddenly he was holding a pair of long knives. This was a surprise to the members of RWBY. It hadn't done that back at Beacon.

He showed unsurprising skill while wielding the deadly blades. Nora's erratic, yet powerful moves looked quite plain next to his graceful, spinning slashes and stabs. Yang and Blake jumped in with them, and the quartet began to push their way through the dwindling pool of enemies.

Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha held together in a tight group, with Weiss in the middle, shooting out various elements from her sword, while Ruby and Pyrrha fought around her, cutting through the Grimms. Ruby was beginning to get her second (or was it her seventh?) wind. Her arms were no longer trembling, and she found she had the strength to use some of her more acrobatic moves.

She slammed the blade point into the icy ground, the whole scythe spinning like a fast forward watch hand while she hung from the handle, feet slamming into Grimms as she spun past them. With an expertly timed lash, she sent one flying, which landing an the end of Pyrrha's sword.

Suddenly something huge and heavy grabbed Ruby's foot as she tried to complete her maneuver. She found herself being lifted straight up, then slammed down onto the snow covered ground, her breathe whooshing out, her lungs crumpling like a plastic bag on the end of a vacuum hose. Her vision was slightly blurred, but she felt something hard, cold, and very, very sharp pressed against her throat.

She could just make out the Alpha male of the pack standing over her, it's white and red armor it's most notable feature. It's eyes burned with a conscious hatred, handed down through it's fore fathers. It opened it's mouth, preparing to either howl or bite. Ruby looked the creature right in it's eyes, calm spreading over her. She knew she had no energy to fight this. She waited for the inevitable.

"UNHAND HER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Something white and silver appeared in Ruby's vision, the entire length of Myrtenaster sliding neatly into the top of the Grimms skull. A single miniature glyph spun silently at the end of it's hilt. 20 yards away, Weiss stood unarmed, breathing hard, a look of utter and complete rage decorating her beautiful features.  
Ruby had a detached thought. 'She is a lot scarier than I thought'.

She stood, looking around at the remains of the ambush, which had turned into a slaughter.

In minutes, the tables had turned, the two teams managing to fight off the assault. The last Grimm was nothing more than a melting shadow at Yang's feet, who's eyes were returning to their usual violet color. The two teams converged, smiles on their faces as they exchanged the greetings that had gone unsaid for almost a year.

"Long time, no see," Yang said, hugging Pyrrha and Nora, who reciprocated warmly. Ren stayed silent, but his smile was large and genuine. Ruby followed her sister's lead, hugging the three saviors, while Weiss huffed, saying "we could have handled it... But thanks anyway, I guess."

Blake hugged them all and said "it's good to see you, but why are you away from the front lines? And how did you know where to find us?"

Pyrrha responded, saying "when Yang called ahead and mentioned you were coming this way, we decided to try to meet you en route. But then we heard the shots, and rushed here as quickly as we could. Looks like it was just in time, too. It is a good thing you guy's put on such a show whenever you fight."

Ruby nodded, feeling both the physical and emotional drain from the battle telling her to sleep. To block out the voice, she asked "where's Jaune?"

"He's still on the front lines. Kinda hard to get away when your the general of an army" Nora said, flicking a piece of Grimm fur from her shoulder. Her skin was flushed from the exertion of the fight, and the look behind her eye was almost fevered.

Yang caught the scent of Nora's favorite pre-battle drink, a shot of Grimm's Blood, one of the most potent alcohols developed by human hands, on her breath. She winced, realizing that Nora would be more than a little unpredictable for the next 8 hours.

Ren nodded, saying "we will take you to him. He'll be glad to see you."  
Then Weiss noticed the glinting gold band on Pyrrha's finger.  
"He proposed?" The question was sprung as much from surprise as happiness.

Pyrrha nodded, a happy, but restricted, smile spreading across her face. "I'm as surprised as you are. I thought I was going to have to do it."  
Ruby picked up on the tone in her voice, a strange tension that was unlike Pyrrha. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Pyrrha responded unhappily.  
"It's a little hard to explain. You'll have to see for yourself."

The mood turned somber as the newcomers took in the sight of team RWBY. Their clothes were heavily torn and patched, streaks of blood from Grimm knew how many sources splattered across them and their meager belongings. Yang had a slight limp in her leg and a soiled cloth bandage tied around her thigh, made all the more noticeable as she limped around, collecting their belongings from where they had been tossed when the fight had started.

Ruby had numerous smaller bandages covering rips and slashes in her older outfit (merely an altered version of her outfit from when they had been in school). Much of the cloth was stitched, restitched, or patched. Several of them looked like they where the only thing holding the outfit together.

It was obvious they had been on the road for a long while, too long. Even Weiss's usually perfect getup was crisscrossed with all manner of gore.

In a way, they actually looked quite... Noble, was the only word Pyrrha could come up with. They looked like they had actually been fighting the war, unlike many of the soldiers in the 'posh' positions, protecting the important people. They looked like hell, but they also looked like they kicked hell's ass.

Together, the 2 groups headed back to the army's main camp, trying to be upbeat as they trudged through the snow.

It had been only two years since their graduation and departure from Beacon. Upon graduating, unlike many groups, RWBY and JNPR had chosen to stay together, splitting the money from jobs and living relatively close together in one town or other. A downside to the Hunter's life was constant moving throughout the world, following each job as it came by.

They were never home sick, although that in itself made them sad, since none of them ever really had a home in the first place. Since their uncle Qrow was a huntsman, he shared their current life style. Before losing contact, he had been in Haven, helping to stem the flow of Grimm in an evacuating red zone.

Last summer, a new threat had emerge, one unlike any they had seen. A young man, known only as Grimm's Disciple, had appeared in Vale, and had begun preaching that in one month's time, a small town on the outer reaches of the kingdom, named Frontier, would fall to a Grimm attack. After a week, he had begun to develop a following, and preachers began to appear all over the city.

With the deadline approaching, team RWBY had decided to visit the town, if only to dispel the rumors. They arrived on the day of the proposed attack, and horror was waiting to greet them. A massive convergence of Grimm creatures held sway over the town, Grimms from nearly every land and sky based family raging as they tore the town to shreds.

But the most shocking part was that the Grimms had riders, saddles, even man-made augmentations to their natural armor. And over the entire scene flew a massive Grimm, a Night Scream, a dragon shaped Grimm of proportions unseen in the last century. And on its back was the boy, the first disciple.

Team RWBY and a large group of soldiers and Hunters had managed to fight off the Grimm, but not without heavy losses. About 10 people had been apprehended, soldiers of the enemy, but all ten had been killed in one way or another before any questioning could be done.

In the week following the attack, letters were delivered to every man and woman with any governmental power, stating that the attack was the first of many, and that it was lead by the Descendants of Grimm's Blood, extremists that had long been benign, thought of as merely a group of fanatics. Apparently, the group had found a boy with the power to command Grimm, as if it was an army at the whims of it's king. Their goal was to destroy humanity, ending it's reign and ushering in a world of darkness for the Children of Grimm.

Immediately, a contingency of Hunters were assigned to join the military and fight off the threat. But the Descendants were cunning, hiding in the wild lands, where animosity and fear was ingrained into the population. The soldiers where met with passive resistance and open hatred as they attempted to get information from the populace.

The disciples ambushed the encamped army often, stealing supplies and attacking with massive waves of Grimm, some creatures that hadn't been seen in hundreds of years, others that had long since been written off as either mythical or harmless. When an attack had killed the current leaders during an emergency gathering, four teams of hunters, including team JNPR, were drafted to lead the crumbling armies.

Jaune had taken on the role of commander of his remaining troops, and his first order had been a mass regroup and evacuation of all outlying groups, bringing what remained of his army and the citizens that would listen to Vale, where he set up completely reforming the army.

His team worked tirelessly, running elite missions and training soldiers. Recently, they had managed to retake the base of operations in an overrun military base, about 20 miles east outside of vale.

The base was used generally for R&amp;R, and housed between 450-700 troops. Jaune, brilliant man that he had been, had improved considerably as a soldier and a person, although the growth was sad in part because it had been forced upon him.

The group reached the camp, which was hardly the word for it. Massive walls, topped with automated and manual weapon systems, ringed the man made fortress in the center. It was 20 stories tall, giving it an impressive view of the surrounding plain. The top was a look out tower, no doubt rigged to an alarm system. The entire thing was covered in windows, offering some comfort for those who disliked being inside. The fortress was a monument to the utter and complete power of the military. Or it had been.

But after a few moments, the team began to notice things. The fortress had not been faring well in the war. Several of the automated weapons were in pieces, soldiers carrying them to other guns for replacing older parts. Many of the windows on the fortress were shattered, some with soot blackening the area above them, obvious signs of a massive fire. A section of the wall was heavily patched, trying to reinforce the weakening structure. Many of the soldiers sported injuries, and all had haggard looks on their faces.

Ren lead the way into the main building, opening a set of massive double doors that lead into a sort of atrium. It in itself was 2 stories tall, plain gray walls raising up, a walkway ringing the second story, black metal doors closing off unimportant or empty rooms. The smells of old food and steam were coming from the mess hall, where soldiers had just finished dinner. Blake winced at the strong smells that invaded her advanced senses.

The two teams continued to a room at the very center of the building, in which stood Jaune and a gathering of advisers and assistants. Personal combat model guard robots stood in each of the corners, watching carefully over the proceedings.

"We know where they were, and we know where they might go, but we have no idea where they ARE!"  
Jaune growled in frustration, slamming a fist down on the battle map that spread out before him. Ruby winced. She had never heard him that angry. Pyrrha cleared her throat, and the blond knight turned. Ruby couldn't contain the gasp. A heavy, pronounce scar now marred Jaune's face, traveling from the corner of his right eye, down along his jawline to come to a stop at his neck, just off the hollow of his throat.

The scar was red, still looking relatively fresh, though it must have closed up almost a month before. It looked like a claw mark. Jaune smiled, but was obviously less than pleased at her reaction.

"Hey guys. Been a while, huh?"

The uncertainty, usually front and center in his voice, had long since left, replaced with a mellow, soothing quality, which in turn was hedged by a sharp, defiant tone. His sword, Crocea Mors, was still belted to his waist, his armor unchanged even after so many years, but even with the material similarities, he was so different. He was half a foot taller, his muscle mass having grown as well. Though he would never hold the same skill level as Pyrrha, he was also no longer helpless with his blade, and there was an assurance to his steps that cried of hours of training.

"Hey, it has, hasn't it? When we heard you were made a general, we decided to give you some time. I wish we had known just how long, but, you know how it goes." Ruby found she spoke quit naturally despite Jaune's facial mar. She attributed it to the years she had spent talking with Weiss. "How are we doing in this fight?"

"About as well as can be expected. We have them on the run, but they know this terrain about as well as anyone can. We were considering pulling back and guarding the borders, but then they hit us hard. Almost killed me." His hand traveled the length of his scar, his face brooding. Then he smiled again.

"Where are my manners. Come on, we have some catching up to do."

He dismissed his advisers, and the 2 teams took seats around the table, the scale battle map retracting into the table itself, solid looking panels closing less than an inch above the top of the miniature fortress. Pyrrha sat next to Jaune, and his face immediately eased. It was obvious that he had become head-over-heels for her. Ruby knew it started shortly after the inter-school dance their first year, and she felt an odd ache mixed with her happiness. Her thoughts turned briefly to her own inner turmoil about her current relationship with... but she couldn't bring herself to go there.

A ragged hole had been torn in her chest by her own feelings, her heart carved out and handed unfairly to a certain tsundere that was less than 4 feet away. Her fantasies often used the word princess instead of heiress, but the same feelings couldn't be ignored. She blushed scarlet as one of her more vivid imaginings invaded her mind. Yang noticed, but kept her peace, striking up an animated discussion with Nora.

"So, what's going on in your life, Nor?"

The nickname from their second year visibly made her perk, and she let out a loud laugh, saying "well, shortly after we left school, I manged to convince a certain someone that I wasn't following him around for fun. We all know he can't take a hint to save his life, and..." she continued on, her bubbling about finally getting Ren to notice how she felt about him (she said she had locked the two of them in a room for 4 hours before he figured it out. Yang thought she was joking until she saw the somewhat sour look spread over Ren's face,) enough to capture Blake's attention.

Weiss was carefully examining Juane's face out of the corner of her eye. It was easier then she thought, sitting on his right, and she managed to get a view of the entire line of the scar. It started at the curve of his eye, ripping down the side of his cheek to the top of his jawline, cutting down half his jawline, then curving down to stop at the edge of his throat.

Blake listened to Nora's ramblings, which had somehow wondered into a new modification she had made to her hammer, Magnhild, which allowed it to rapid fire it's grenades. Apparently, it had been Ren's idea, and Nora had convinced him to make a slight modification of his own. His Storm Flowers could now collapse, and transform into twin knives. Though it wasn't anything overly outstanding, it was huge that she had managed to get him to do anything to his precious weapons.

Blake was envious. She had had a pretty huge crush on Yang for the better part of the last year. She had never been an expert on relationships, and the few she had had were worse train wrecks than just about anything she had ever heard of. She shuddered as she thought briefly about how it had ended with Velvet, and drifted further from the conversation as her mind went unconsciously to Adam.

Her teacher, her friend (she had thought), and her (briefly) boy friend. The relationship had been more for convenience than anything. They had both had their lonely insides, their hollowness. They had tried to fill it with a meaningless relationship. She had left before anything... physical, had happened. She found a slight flush creeping up her neck as that thought flashed through her mind.

Jaune had started talking to Ruby, saying "I was thinking that when all this is finally over, we can all get together for a more, appropriate, reunion. It's been so long since we've had anytime to really catch up. What have you been up to? We lost track of you when you were headed for quadrant 7. What happened?"

"We were heading after the Grimm that tore through Hevail. It led us into an ambush, and our bag that had most of our communication equipment in it was eaten. When we were on our way back, we managed to find a working 2-way in what's left of Johntown. That's when Yang contacted you. We managed to corner the beast in a valley in the eastern corner of the quadrant. It took us 5 hours to bring the damn thing down."

Pyrrha asked, "what type of Grimm was it?"  
"Don't know. Never seen one quite like it. It was a drakon type, you know, dragons without wings? But it was different than most. It was huge, for one thing, but it was really lightly armored. It seemed like it relied on speed over power. It had massive stamina. We only killed it because it finally tired out. That and Weiss managed to freeze 2 of it's legs." She giggled, then stopped, unnerved.

The sound was slightly unnatural, and she was surprised that just mentioning Weiss was enough to draw such a reaction from her. Weiss, luckily, was engrossed in a talk with Jaune about how his scar had healed. Ruby decided it was probably just exhaustion that was driving her crazy. She glanced at Weiss sideways, unconsciously engraving the sight of her into her memory, her posture, her clothes, her skin... her face.

Pyrrha snapped her fingers at Ruby, trying to get her attention, but the sound came out louder than she meant it to. Everyone turned to look at her, then followed her gaze to Ruby, who sat, suddenly mortified that she was looking directly into Weiss's eyes. She stood abruptly, her hands clenching as she bared her teeth, trying to control her emotions. She said "is there a place where I can change? I'd like to put on my last clean outfit."

Jaune answered before anyone could ask what was wrong. She was surprised that he had picked up on her tone. He was obviously more mature than when they had first met. He said "out the door, turn left, take the elevator to the third floor, the doors on the left are shower rooms with tubs, the doors on the right are unused officer bunks. We had them prepped when you contacted us."

She nodded curtly, then turned and walked briskly from the room. Yang half stood in her seat, but Weiss held up a hand, saying "I'll go. She's been acting off for several weeks. As her partner, I think it's my responsibility to find out what's going on."

Yang nodded, retaking her seat. Weiss left the room, looking towards the elevators in time to see Ruby hitting one of the buttons. Their eyes met, and Weiss stopped cold. There was an uncompromising look on her face, one that was filled with both unwavering hate and extensive pain. Weiss was frozen in place, a wave of irrational fear spreading through her body.

Then the door closed, and it was like Weiss was released from some sort of spell.

She could move again, but she didn't want to. She felt suddenly weak in the knees. But she knew if she didn't check on Ruby, she might not be able to. She walked slowly to the elevators, making sure Ruby's was already at the third floor before calling one. She thought to herself 'what the hell is wrong with her now?' as she waited, her fear turning to anger as she considered what she had seen.

Not only was Ruby in some sort of pain, she was refusing to tell her team about it. She spent the whole elevator ride getting more and more frustrated. As the doors finally dinged open, she was seething. It never changed. Every time something happened to someone on the team, they refused to talk about it.

She stood between two doors, trying to decide which one her partner was hiding behind. After a second, she heard the water running behind the door on the left. She opened it, too angry to think about knocking. However, she immediately pulled back. The sight that greeted her was somewhere between terrifying and absolutely beautiful.

Ruby stood in her underwear, bent slightly over the tub of an over-sized shower, one finger testing the water, steam curling up and around her slim frame. Her skin was a creamy pale, not quite as light as Blake's or Weiss's, but nowhere near her older sister's light tan. With her back to Weiss, her chest was hidden, but, despite having seen it before, something about the situation was sending a heavy blush towards Weiss's face. But that wasn't what drew her immediate attention. No, the thing that terrified her was the look on Ruby's face. It was drawn back in a human interpretation of a wolf's snarl, her eyes alight with emotion.

After a moment, she straightened, turning and walking slowly towards Weiss. Weiss had never been scared of Ruby before, but now she took an unsteady step back, iron bands closing around her chest as she tried to breathe, the fear seizing her mind, her body refusing to move correctly. Having closed the door behind her, she felt her back press hard against the cool metal door. Ruby was less than 2 steps away.

Weiss tried to apologize, saying "I'm sorr-mph!"

Ruby had thrust her lips hard against Weiss's, and she froze.

She had never expected this, not in a million years. She didn't know what to do. If it had been anyone else, she would have panicked or fought, but she found herself not wanting to fight her off, not wanting to end it.

Ruby had one hand on the door, the other holding Weiss by the back of her neck. Weiss couldn't go anywhere, couldn't do anything. So she settled for nothing. Her body stayed limp as she felt her lips being pushed around, felt, a little less than timidly, by Ruby's. After a moment, Ruby pulled away, turning her back and just standing there. Unable to decide what to say, Weiss turned and left. If she had stayed only 2 seconds more, she would have seen the tears racing down Ruby's face.


	2. Confession session

Weiss sank slowly to the ground, her back to the door of the shower room. She felt utterly numb. How could she? After all this time, just when she was getting over her, she went and kissed her? What kind of sick torture was that?

Weiss could feel the hollowness in her chest returning, her feelings suddenly raw and fresh, like an open wound. She felt the brief heat of building tears just before they overflowed, her face still passive and calm despite her inner conflict. She tried to reason it to herself, that she had hallucinated, that it was just a dream or vision brought on by repressed emotions and lack of sleep. But she could still feel Ruby's perfect lips, pressing against her own. Soft, urgent, hungry...

Despite her immediate feelings to the situation, Weiss couldn't hold back the slight elation at this sudden turn of events. She had thought, during their time at Beacon, that she was being more than clear, what with her attitude, the way her eyes always lingered on her, the subtle hints she had dropped, over and over again until she was sure that Ruby was merely ignoring her, not wanting to upset her by turning her down.

She had been so sure that Ruby hadn't been interested that she went out of her way to try and pull some sort of reaction out of her partner.

Her sexual choices had always brought her to the attention of people like Cardin, who, shortly after finding out that fact, had gone out of his way to make her miserable. It was even worse when he over heard her talking about who she wanted to be with.

He had almost, almost, managed to reveal it to the whole school. Unfortunately for him, Weiss found out he was secretly a faunus fetishist, after snooping through his room. A locked trunk full of faunus porn and other, nastier things, had been enough to convince him to back off.

She had dated a large handful of other girls around the school, trying to get some sort of reaction from Ruby, anything, really. Few ever got serious, and only one had reached the physical high that was called sex. She smiled bitterly as she recalled her brief fling with Nora, the 2 of them having been drunk enough not to know or care what exactly they were doing, and Nora, either choosing to ignore it, or so drunk she had forgotten about it, avoided the subject on principle.

It had been bittersweet, excellent, exhilarating, yet hollow. They had avoided each other for a few weeks after the incident. Yang had always weeded through her girlfriends when she dumped them, nabbing the ones she wanted. There was probably a therapist in Vale making a lot of money off the girls she and Yang had gone through.

She grimaced as her thoughts turned to when her family had found out. Her father had called her back to the estate shortly after her graduation. He had said that, now that she was a huntress, she should be trying to protect the company, trying to find out who would take over beside her. She had misunderstood his meaning in the words, and had accidentally let slip her fixation on her partner, Ruby.

Her father had gone into such a rage, she was almost afraid he would attack her. He had had the audacity to ORDER her to stay away from Ruby, to find a young, rich, and smart boy who would take over with her.

Weiss, obviously, disagreed.

In short, she had told her father where he could stick the family business, then stormed out. He had been so furious, so angry at her at the time, she had gone slightly paranoid afterwards. It was rather ridiculous that she would fear her father, but all the same, she had seen to many good people turned to monsters by fear or anger. About a year afterwards, she had 'made up' with her father, although She knew now what lay beneath his calm demeanor. She winced as the look on her sister's face flashed in her mind.

She had been with another few since graduating, but those were merely attempts to drown her feelings for Ruby, instead of trying to get her attention. None of them ever worked, though she was actually trying. But life as a Huntress was often too stressful for those who didn't share it. And the other huntresses she had been with all had their own missions and lives, and without communications, long distance relationships never worked out. In the end, she had begun to resign herself to a life of loneliness, spent standing next to her fixation.

When they had finally left Beacon, she was starting to get over her. Of course, her feelings remained, and she felt a near physical pain every time she looked at Ruby, but she was beginning to know there was no place for her by Ruby's side, at least not as anything more than a friend. And yet, now, suddenly it was a possibility.

She stood, feeling an overwhelming sense of confidence at the sudden realization. She felt a smile tug at her lips, raising her hands and drying her eyes. She could hear, (barely) the sound of the shower being turned off. She stepped back, preparing to confront Ruby when she stepped out. She managed a genuine smile, ready to greet her friend, but fate had other plans.

The sound of the elevator opening not far to her right distracted her. JNPR, Yang and Blake stepped out of the elevator. Yang took in the look on her devastated face, then opened her mouth to ask the one question Weiss knew she didn't want to hear. But before she could, Ruby shoved the door open, slipping past Weiss, her face hidden from her as she slipped into the room across the hall, the door slamming behind her.

Weiss was abashed, trying to figure out what had gone so wrong so fast. Yang had clamped her mouth shut as she saw Ruby, but gave Weiss a hard look. Of course. Big Sis would automatically assume it was Weiss's fault. She sighed to cover her own gloomy mood, then said "I'm heading to bed too. If it's alright, Yang, would you share a room with me? I'd like to finish the paper work for the last assignment, and I think there are still some papers that need your signature."

Yang was already nodding, striding forward and latching on to Weiss's arm with a (some what) forgivable amount of force, steering her into the bedroom next door. As soon as the door was closed, she roughly shoved Weiss forward, saying "what the hell did you do? I've never seen her look that way. Even after dad died."

She flinched slightly at the memory, of the messenger finding them halfway through a particularly difficult assignment, giving them a hand written note from Ozpin himself, explaining how their father had suffered a heart attack. Ruby had been depressed, her usual animated personality crushed by the loss. She had always helped take care of her father.

Strong as he was, the poor man would lose his hands if they weren't attached to him. The family dog was with professor Oobleck at the moment, who had been more than happy to study 'such an excellent example of canine personality and exuberance' while they were visiting team JNPR.

Weiss straightened, saying "I didn't do anything, not this time."  
"Then what happened?"  
"It's a long story, or maybe not, but the short of it is that your sister just... she... well, she kissed me."  
Yang was quiet for the moment, then her face contorted as she tried to express elation, confusion, and reservation all at once.  
"And what did you do?"  
"Nothing. I didn't know what to do. You remember i used to be all over her, but she never reciprocated. Well, I thought I was over her. Then, when she kissed me, it all came rushing back. I wanted to do something, ANYTHING, but I couldn't. So I sort of... left."  
"What do you mean, you left?"  
"I walked out of the room. I left."  
"And you didn't think it would HURT HER?!"

Weiss flinched as Yang's voice shot straight up in pitch, the way it always did when she was either drunk, bordering on hysterics, or angry as hell. Weiss shook her head, trying to get a grip on the situation before Yang spontaneously combusted (again).

"I tried to go back in. I really was about to confront this, until you all came up in the elevator. You interrupted me, otherwise I would have followed Ruby. I want to tell her how I feel. But I... I'm not sure what to do. Please, help me?"

She felt surprise inside as she begged, but she knew there was no one better to ask. Yang had the most experience out of all of them with relationships. She, like her sister, was bisexual, but unlike her sister, insisted that anyone she laid her eyes on, anyone that caught her fancy, was going to be hers, at least until the novelty wore off. She had been with more people than even she cared to admit, including both Nora and Pyrrha. She had kept out of the immediate team for the most part, although there had been a small period of time that Weiss had seen her eyeing Blake.

Yang glared at her, but the hot glow that surrounded her cooled a bit.  
She said "I'm not sure if you deserve my sister, but its obvious she wants you. Honestly, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. Shes been throwing you the same flags you tossed at her since before graduation. I'd say the 2 of you are exceedingly unobservant. Anyway, the only thing I can tell you is that Ruby is probably really torn up after your reaction. that's the reason she shut down like that.'

"She did the same thing back in both Signal and Beacon. When you approach her, do it carefully, and be ready for anything. She could very well snap, and as you've seen, that isn't a pretty sight. She's spent most of her life hiding from or rejecting her feelings. Also, don't do anything tonight. If you try to fix this now, you will break her. She needs some time to cool."

Weiss nodded, then headed into the adjoining room to change. Though she had always felt comfortable enough around the whole team, changing in front of just one somehow sent shivers down her spine, and not the good ones. But as she was about to close the door behind her, she heard Yang call out, "and if you hurt her again, Weiss, by accident or otherwise, your future will get a whole lot more complicated than a few Grimm." Weiss swallowed hard at the threat, nodding even as she closed the door.

Yang waited till the door was closed, then broke out into a large smile. 'it's about time, little sis. You guys will work out just fine.' she turned and began to change.

Ruby sat on the bed, her forehead pressed against her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs, hugging them to her chest. She felt so hollow inside, like someone had taken out more than her heart this time. She couldn't believe she had lost control like that.

And she had kissed Weiss! KISSED her! She flinched as she remembered the way Weiss had frozen when their lips touched. How could she have been so stupid! And now, it was far more than just the rejection. After her stunt, how could she ever face Weiss again? And how could she deal with this... thing, inside her?

What frustrated her more than anything was that this was an enemy she had no idea how to fight. It wasn't like some monster she could just kill and it would be over. It was a constant, deep ache of emptiness that sent horrible shivers through her body. Few things could temper the feeling, and only one could make her forget about it entirely, and that was fighting an enemy, something that she could put at fault.

She could feel some emotion other than self loath pushing at her insides, and after a moment, she recognized it. It was anger, but she couldn't figure out what it was directed at. It was the same emotion that had filled her when she had looked into Weiss's eyes, anger, and just the slightest need to put her fist through a wall. She had felt it again when Weiss had come into the bathroom.

It had lead her to do what she did. When she kissed Weiss, it had been pushing her to do so much more, and she had had to fight it. Hard as it was, she had fought it. But she hadn't been able to stop it completely. She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she needed to talk or she might explode from the pent up energies inside her. She wondered if this was what her sister felt like when someone touched her hair.

Blake entered the room, an oddly thoughtful expression on her face. She took in Ruby with her golden gaze, but it was distracted, like she wasn't sure exactly what she was seeing.

She said "can we talk? Its kind of important."

Ruby managed to uncurl herself, nodding slightly. She could hold off on her own questions for now. After all, a good leader doesn't crack under pressure.

Blake sat at the edge of the bed next to hers, composing herself before saying "recently, I think I've come to realize something. It was back when we were attacked by those Beowulfs, and the realization that we could have died crossed my mind. I want to act on something, but I wanted to get your opinion... no, your permission, to do it."

Now Ruby was curious, and the slightest bit confused. Blake didn't usually ramble, and she was doing plenty of that now. "What's this about Blake? You can ask me anything."

Blake swallowed, nervous. Her face was reddening, and she seamed to be having trouble breathing. She said said "I would like your permission... and, if it's not to much to ask, your help... courting Yang."

A complex swirl of emotions raged through Ruby when she heard those words. Anger, resentment, happiness, sadness, loneliness, and dozens of others flashed through her like some obscene movie reel. She had to steady herself as she moved to the edge of her own bed.

Through clenched teeth, she managed "go ahead, but I can't help you." She stood before Blake could react, sprinted from the room, from the place where the universe was mocking her.

She managed to pull herself together, but by the time she had stopped running, she was outside, standing in the makeshift courtyard in front of the fortress's main building. She stopped by a pile of crates, waiting to be moved to who knew where, breathing hard as she fought the urge to howl at the unfairness of it all. Everyone, EVERYONE, had some one. Nora, Jaune, Ren, Pyrrah, Yang, Blake. Even Weiss could have whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted.

Yet she, lonely, socially awkward, bitter little Ruby, she was alone. She had had her fair share of dates in and out of beacon. Because of the fact that most had been scared off by Yang, except Velvet, who had left because it was difficult for her to be around Blake, Ruby had had very few relationships that had lasted longer than 3 months, and even fewer that had made it past the 'dating-friends' area. She remembered the fit Yang had had when she found out Ruby was no longer a virgin. They were still paying off their debt to that poor bar owner.

That being said, none of the people she had dated had ever connected with her on the level she had wanted... no, that she had Needed them to. Then, about a year before graduation, she had found her answer. Weiss. Weiss had always been cold, hard, more of a distant cousin than the sister Ruby had always hoped they could be. And yet, she held an undeniable attraction. Ruby had been fixated, fascinated. She hadn't been able to go a week without thinking "I wish..."

Weiss was always flaunting some new girlfriend about, as if she were trying to show the world that not only was she able to get almost anyone, she could do it in a flash. Ruby had tried several times to work up the courage to confront Weiss during those brief periods where she was without a girlfriend. But each time she finally found her voice, Weiss had found another one. When they had left Beacon and made the promise to stay together, she had assumed things would get better. But they got even worse.

Weiss was her usual self on missions, complaining, grouching about in an imitation of an Ursa that just came out of hibernation. Several times, when Ruby had finally gotten her alone, gotten the courage to say what she needed to, she made the mistake of looking into Weiss's eyes. They were often cold, dead, sometimes angry. back at Beacon, they had an edge to them, but not like this.

Not once had they ever been as inviting as they had during their first 2 years at beacon. And she noticed that a gap seamed to form after they left, growing wider in their time in the wilds. Ruby had eventually given up.  
Or so she thought.

Something about seeing Pyrrha and Jaune together had sent her spiraling into an abyss that was forcing her to relapse. She deftly touched her lips, where Weiss's had touched, ever so briefly. It had felt good, despite it's utter wrongness. After an hour or so, she began the walk back. Fresh snow was falling, and she had left her cloak and hood inside. It was dark, and she shivered.

She had burnt out in her run, the energies falling away, leaving the ache. She felt both better and worse. The fire would be back, and she would have to do something when it did, but for now, she decided the best thing she could do was sleep.

When she got back to her room, Blake was asleep, one of her gushy romance novels clutched in her hands as her face made odd movements, living out parts of the book in her dreams. Ruby just lay on the bed and went to sleep. She would deal with it in the morning.

Weiss woke the next morning with a plan. She knew Ruby well enough to know that she would do her damnedest to avoid her after the kiss. Weiss shuddered slightly at the memory. The moment, the feeling, the view. She had to admit, Ruby had grown quite beautiful during their time in, and after, Beacon. She decided to make it impossible for Ruby to avoid her.

She woke 2 hours before Ruby usually did (on the off chance that Ruby had managed to plan that far ahead) and planted herself firmly in front of the door, planning to shove her way in when it opened, or bust it down if it didn't. Of course, there was only one way in and one way out, and Blake wouldn't take kindly to being kept prisoner, so it wasn't like the door could stay closed forever. She was still slightly mad about the whole ordeal.

After all, Ruby had been so tempting back then. Yang should have mentioned the mutual attraction to one of them if she noticed. 'I mean, we had been RIGHT THERE!'

She also felt slightly miffed about how Ruby had acted when they had kissed. She had looked almost furious, and Weiss had been able to detect the slight tremors of anger through her soft, comforting lips. It was almost as if she was holding back some sort of urge. Thinking on that, Weiss decided to keep her distance while she explained, lest Ruby be over come with some sexual fit. She smiled slightly to herself as she tried to imagine Ruby doing such a thing. Their shy, corner booth, mechanic leader being so brash. She decided that she probably wasn't in danger from such an act.

3 hours after she had first woke up, the door opened and a tired looking Blake stepped out, barely having time to register Weiss before she shoved past, then reversed direction, closing the door on her confused teammate's face. Blake stood there for a moment, baffled, then finally shrugged and headed down to the army mess hall, all the while trying to decide what to say to Yang. It was going to be a long day.

Weiss glanced around the room, freezing as she took in the sight. Like her own room, the beds stood on a slightly raised section of floor, against the far wall. A floor to ceiling window took up the wall, and through it shined golden sunlight, playing softly over the practical but lavish beds that usually held officers or people of importance. Now, one held a beautiful woman. Her sleeping face was soft and calm, the hard lines of battle, and the always changing signs of laughter and happiness gone, demolished in the moment of blissful sleep.

Her breathing was easy, and the whooshing of it, in and out, could be heard across the still room. She was curled slightly on her side, her hands palm up on her left. Her face was curled away from the curve, her mouth slightly open, just enough to let the breaths escape.

Weiss immediately thought of the fairy tail, the sleeping princess, and felt the urge she always assumed the prince must have, slowly approaching the sleeping beauty that was Ruby Rose. As she reached the slightly raised step, Ruby shifted slightly, rolling over onto her back, one hand resting against her chest, the other splayed out, finger twitching slightly.

Weiss froze at the change, but after a few minutes, it was clear Ruby wasn't getting up. She continued forward, coming to a stop on the left side of the bed. Ruby looked so fragile, laying there. Weiss, either caught up in the drama of the moment, or out of an actual feel for the story, (she wasn't quite sure, but thought, hoped, it was the later) gently repeated the line from the story.

"Feel my lips on yours, and wake, for we are one and the same with our love..."

And she leaned down and placed her lips gently against the soft curves of Ruby's. Of course, with their combined bad luck, Ruby's eyes fluttered open at the contact.

For a moment, she merely stared as Weiss continued, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling. Ruby was sure it was a dream. After all, it was picking up pretty much where her dream had left off. But then Weiss pulled away, her eyes still closed as she continued to feel the echos of her lips. Ruby placed her fingers against her lips, not understanding, not getting it.

But she had to make sure this was real. She stood quietly. Weiss's back was to a wall, and she pushed her lips against Weiss's, who's eyes were still closed. That changed quickly. Her eyes flew open, and she made a move as if to push Ruby away. But Ruby wouldn't have it. She wrapped her fingers around Weiss's wrists, pushing her backwards, till she was pressed against the wall.

The kiss had started out as romantic, but it was quickly building heat. Weiss struggled for a moment, but Ruby was stronger than her. And after a few seconds of that wonderful feeling, she didn't want it to stop. She could feel the heat, too, and stopped struggling. Ruby released her wrists, then wrapped her arms around Weiss's neck. Weiss's hands reached up, grabbing for her hair, which was still the same wolf-cut bob she had had in Beacon. After a moment, they had to break away, Ruby gasping for air.

She didn't get long though, as Weiss pushed back. Ruby, surprised, took a few steps back, tripping over her feet. She fell backward, landing on the bed, and Weiss, in her excitement, practically jumped on her. They continued where they left off, Ruby's hand traveling down her back to tug at the loose knots that held the back of Weiss's nightgown closed.

Weiss, realizing that, 1; she had lost control of the situation, and 2; she didn't even care anymore, reached behind her to help, starting at the bottom while Ruby trailed down from the top. There were only 5 knots, and their hands met at the last one.

Each moved a hand to the others face, and together, they pulled the strings apart. Weiss's night gown fell open across Ruby's chest, revealing her perfect porcelain skin, the only mar, her scar over her left eye. she pulled back, trying to gauge the expression on Ruby's face.  
Her face held nothing but a healthy dose of lust.

Weiss's only remaining clothes were a light blue set of underwear, which should have made her quite beautiful, but which she now felt the immediate need to shed. She straightened, her movements becoming hastier as she struggled with the bra strap. After a moment of watching this with an amused expression, Ruby said "here," reaching up and unhooking it in a single try. The bra followed the nightgown, landing with a dull thump on Ruby's ample chest.

Weiss quickly shoved the clothes to the side, impatient to get Ruby's off. Ruby began to get pulled into the enthusiasm, struggling to help Weiss take off her night shirt. After a few seconds of struggling, it went the way of Weiss's clothes. Looking over each others bodies, they began to take in the subtle but defined differences between them. Ruby, having grown almost half a foot since school, was about a half inch taller than Weiss.

Weiss's body was less bony than it had been, filling out to match her devastatingly sexy legs. Her breasts had grown as well, but not by much. Her constant work, as well as her weapon preference, meant that her building had gone to slightly different places.

Ruby, on the other hand, had followed her older sister (sort of) in that section. Her breasts, which hadn't exactly been small in the first place, had filled out, and her insistence on wearing her corset often made it hard for Weiss to concentrate during a fight. She slept without a bra, and Weiss could see the hardness of her nipples, although that didn't stop her hands from seeing for themselves.

As her fingers gently curled around the soft skin, Ruby let out a low moan, her fantasies from Beacon, and after, having been nothing compared to the actual feel of Weiss's gentle, searching touch.

After a few seconds of this, Weiss once again placed her lips against Ruby's, feeling the perfect curves as the formed against her own. Ruby's hands began to explore again, trailing down the silky smoothness of Weiss's hair, which was outside of its usual clipped tail. She trailed down her back till they came to rest at the hem of her panties. Weiss's own hands were resting against the top of Ruby's sweat pants.

However, neither was quit sure what to do. There was a tender, romanticness to their current setting, and somehow, it felt wrong to violate that by going further. After all, neither of them had really been expecting this situation.

Before either could decide how to proceed, the door burst open, and Yang ran in. The 2 girls looked up, ashamed and embarrassed, but Yang didn't even bat an eye. She said "the camp is under attack. you're going to have to put that off till later, girls." she pried open one of the equipment lockers as the partners scrambled to their feet. In one hand she already held Myrtenaster, and she grabbed Crescent Rose out of it's sheath.

Once the others were presentable, she tossed them their respective weapons, and they ran out of the room. Ruby busted open a door to one of the rooms with a shattered window, and the girls looked out at the courtyard to the fortress.

Nevermores had swooped in, air dropping soldiers and small Grimm into the court yard. As they looked out, they saw one of the monstrous birds go down as a missile fired from one of the automated defense guns struck its flank. Yang saw Blake down among the troops, and jumped from the third floor window, landing beside her. Weiss turned to Ruby, about to say something, but suddenly found herself being kissed... again.

This time, it was quick, and as Ruby pulled away, she said "come on. we can talk after." She jumped out the window, Crescent Rose unfurling beside her as she crashed down on top of a Deathstalker that had broken through the weakened section of wall.

Weiss shook her head ruefully, even as she followed suit, thinking 'of all the people in all the world, Ruby Rose, I fell in love with you.'


	3. New life

Ruby rode the Deathstalker into the ground, repeatedly slicing into it's thick armor with her scythe. The creature, unable to pay attention to it's surroundings, careened into it's comrades, flattening a small group of Ursas. A pack of Blood Claws, a prehistoric Grimm that had been thought extinct, had swarmed in through the hole the giant bug had created.

They resembled raptors, standing at just over 4 foot 5 inches tall, white armored skulls sporting 4 glowing eyes and wide jaws, filled with sharp teeth. They had massive claws on their hands and feet, each one at least 3 inches long with serrated edges on the inside. Feathers sprawled down the back of their skulls and along their spines. Powerful muscles propelled them through the air or along the ground.

Yet, despite their killing proficiency and design, they had one significant flaw. They had very weak skin. They had little in the way of natural armor, and when wearing man made armor, they were slowed significantly. They were very common, however, like feral Beowulfs, and often the Descendants used them as mounts instead of fighters.

They weren't the only prehistoric Grimm, however. Several giants had been resurrected, some comically named, like Grimmzilla, the Grimmasaurus. However, the giants themselves were no laughing matter. Though much rarer then the foot soldier Grimms, the were also much harder to kill. Luckily, they were also absent from the fight... so far.

The girls had restocked on Dust and ammunition upon arriving at the camp, and were fresh from their first real nights sleep in weeks. It also helped that spare caches were scattered throughout the grounds. The group was quickly split up as each headed to an area where they were needed the most.

Ruby found herself next to a withered soldier, who, despite his age, was fighting quite effectively next to his younger brothers in arms. He was armed with Hunter class weapons, a pair of short swords, staggered serration covering the inside edges of the straight blades.

Ruby twirled her scythe, slicing through the various Grimms with ease... at first. Though she was well rested, and fully supplied, she could feel herself becoming the focus of the enemy mass in the immediate vicinity. After a few minutes, she realized what that meant. Their controller was nearby. She sent a brief glance to the heavens, and sure enough, watching silently from the sky, was the massive dragon. Her sharp eyes could just barely make out the lines running along it's hide, indicating it's harness.

She was brought back to the situation by a cry. The old soldier had slipped, and an Ursa had his foot in it's mouth. She tried to get to him, but the Ursa had already retreated behind lines of it's smaller cousins. She forced herself to turn away as the old man's cries cut off abruptly. She felt a single hot tear drip down her face, but forced the man from her mind as she flowed through her fighting stances, just like her uncle had taught her.

1, 2 ,4 ,3 ,8. She thought the number of each position as she performed it, locking out her emotions, her attachments, and just focusing on the fighting. It was what she always did when she was in such situations. She shut down completely, emotionally, and let that emptiness become her best friend, her tool, her weapon. Crescent Rose began to taste blood.

Blake was experiencing a slightly different problem, and it was named Yang. First of all, Yang was already battle-drunk, her crazy smile and wide violet eyes her most notable feature. She and Blake were guarding the front of the fortress, tearing apart anything that got close. The soldiers had dispersed to other sections upon realizing that they were actually in more danger around the crazy blond berserker.

Yang was fine, of course, and technically speaking, so was Blake. But every time Yang blasted past her, every time she jumped into the air in front of her, Yang's physical... Advantages, always caught Blake's eye. They way her chest strained at her shirt. They way her shorts pressed tightly against the top of her muscular, powerful legs. The tight V shape of the crotch of those same shorts. Blake was almost nailed by a Nevermore because she was caught up in the way Yang's ass moved when she ran.

She was saved, oddly enough, by Nora, who brought her hammer down onto the massive crow's skull, crushing it under the weighted end of the weapon. Blake blinked, shaking her head hard. The only way she could protect herself was to get away from Yang, so she took off running, to the crumbled remains of the sagging section of wall. The Grimm forces had stopped coming, but massive numbers were still within the walls.

Sky based Grimm dive bombed the battlefield, and she noticed that an abandoned rocket launcher was situated at the top of the 50 foot wall. She calculated the distance, then adjusted her course, coming at the wall at an angle. She hit the base of the wall, jumping and wall climbing around the slight curve of the wall till she lost her momentum.

She unsheathed Gambol Shroud, flinging it up the wall, it's sturdy ribbon trailing behind. The blade cut into the metal, lodging into the wall itself, and Blake managed to pull herself the rest of the way up. When she reached the top, she found a small group of enemy soldiers taking potshots at the military men down in the courtyard. The first was still laughing as she killed him. The others weren't.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yang's insane laughter cut through the air, her fists finding targets with every punch. She hit an enemy soldier in the shoulder, the blast from her gun actually cutting through enough flesh to amputate the attached arm. It flew through the air, the soldiers screams cutting off as a second punch landed just over his heart, blowing out the back of his rib cage. Grimms converged on her, realizing she was the biggest threat, but Ren and Nora covered her expertly.

Juane and Pyrrha were back to back, spinning in an incredible dance as they moved around each other, slashing, slicing, blades flashing, one silver, one gold. they fit together perfectly in their sequences, each pose flowing into the next. Nothing stood before them.

Ren and Nora, on the other hand, were not a smooth waltz, but more of a chaotic tango, explosions ringing their battle site like a rock concert stage. Ren's guns were constantly shifting between blade and pistol, yet he moved with assurance no matter which he was using. Nora was moving with far less grace than before (a consequence of her insistence on her pre-battle drink.) but was swinging with far more power, her hammer impacting with enough force to register as a small earthquake.

After wiping the last of the blood off her weapon, Blake carefully looked over the mounted rocket launcher. It was an RL-46M, one of the best made before things turned to shit. She gave it a once over, making sure it wasn't damaged, then grasping the trigger mechanism gingerly. The trigger was covered by a fixed glove, so in the case of over heating, the metal wouldn't burn the users hand. She had a couple dozen rockets, and she took a few practice shots at the circling sky demons.

2 nevermore went down, their heavy bodies leaving bloody impact craters in the ground. She tried to fire at the dragon, but suddenly a nevermore changed direction in mid-air, as if it had been commanded to. The rocket collided with the massive bird, and the dragon and his rider flew away, out over the plains. A small group of Grimms went after him, looking like an obscene honor guard. She was suddenly aware that the fighting on the ground had stopped.

Weiss was breathing hard, looking regrettably at the body at her feet. She hated killing people, but didn't allow the fact that she had to get in the way of her work. She had read reports of people going crazy from thinking about it to much, and had trained herself to push the thoughts and images away. she looked around at the remains of the courtyard. She saw Blake walking across the floor, examining bodies every here-and-there. Yang was talking to Nora, each with slightly crazed looks in there eyes. Then she saw Ruby. She was kneeling over the body of a soldier.

Ruby opened her eyes, the end of her prayer trailing off as she turned away from the mangled body. Pyrrha was a short distance away, consulting with a small group of soldiers. Jaune was nearby, looking grimly over the carnage, shaking his head. She saw Weiss, their eyes meeting, and Ruby felt a slight warmth light up her chest.

She couldn't help the selfish thought that came next. 'At least it wasn't her'. She sighed, then converged on the front steps with the others. Ren was silent, his eyes closed as he meditated on the battle. Though his clothes were still spotless, the others were splattered with various bits of mud, dirt, and blood.

After the body count, they were somewhat relieved that only 3 soldiers had fallen in the battle. However, the rest had all sustained injuries, except the hunters. Nora and Yang were both battle-drunk, and Nora was also actually drunk. (2 shots of Grimm's blood in less than 48 hours will do that to you). Blake was silent, her nightclothes stained deep red by the human blood. Weiss seemed more or less the same as she had when she had jumped out the window.

Her battle outfit had changed after leaving Beacon, replaced by a white dress with silver trim, the ruff at the neck the same as on her silver jacket, her family crest adorning her back. The sleeves were tight fitting, but the material was flexible enough to prevent rips.

The chest of the dress was of a slightly lower cut than her school gown had been, showing the beginnings of her cleavage, but still holding onto slightly more than Ruby thought it should. A silver necklace was clasped around her neck, a gift from Ruby from a Christmas during their 3rd year. it was adorned with a combination of her and Weiss's symbols, a red Rose cradled inside a clear snowflake, the whole thing having cost more in a single night than Ruby had ever spent before.

It had been meant as a confession, but unfortunately, she had gotten cold feet when Weiss had shown up with a pretty new transfer student (even Ruby and Yang had been somewhat overwhelmed by her looks. Yang had managed to sink her hooks into her shortly after she had been dumped by Weiss.)

The dress also had a train to it, hanging off the shoulders like a cape. The edges were lined with a hand stitched design of swirling snowflakes in a winter wind, and when the cape billowed about, the design seemed to shimmer and shift, creating a winter landscape across her slim back. Shortly after receiving this from her family, Ruby had planned one last present to try and capture her attention.

The attempt was currently sitting in the very bottom of Ruby's luggage. The train stopped at about mid-calf, but Weiss often complained that it was heavy and awkward, requiring constant attention in a fight to avoid altering her fighting style.

Ruby's gift was a cloak like her own. Though it lacked the workmanship her mother had possessed, it did have the powers of Ruby's (she hoped. the Dust infused cloth was harder to work with than she had originally thought, and she had wasted several thousand lien on failed attempts before she finally got it right) and could expand and contract as needed. She was waiting for Weiss's birthday to give it to her, but now, she figured, why not? Now was as good a time as any. Or, maybe in a few hours.

The skirt of the dress widened at the waist, pushing out to allow for smooth movement. It resembled her original skirt, zig-zaging around the edge, but the design had been redone with a repeating pattern of her teams symbols, her only real request from the tailor. The colors had been reworked so as to be more prominent while still matching the rest of the dress, cool silver trimming following the edge of the dress.

The skirt itself stopped just above the knee, so she could bend her legs without trouble. Underneath the dress, she wore a skin-tight pair of pants, more like leggings, that were a white that matched the dress itself. Ruby couldn't help the slight blush that crept across her face as she looked at the outfit. Like all her other clothes, it showed off her legs wonderfully, although, as stated, she would have liked a little more in the upstairs department.

Blake examined Yang out of the corner of her eye. She was as beautiful as always, though her beauty was marred slightly by her crazed smile and violent red eyes. Even still, she found herself drawn to her, her personality, even her scent drawing her in. Blake's advanced sense of smell could pick out the spicy aroma of her perfume and shampoo, sharp pine needles mixed in with an exotic cedar oil and wrapped in gunpowder. It was invigorating stuff.

Jaune stood at the head of the group, Pyrrha attached stoically to his left arm. He was in a brooding mood, something he found himself experiencing more and more often these days. Nora had once joked that the war had made him prematurely middle aged. He was beginning to think she was right. He turned to the group.

"Well, I'll say it again. Welcome to the army headquarters."

"Does this happen often?" Ruby responded, managing to tear her eyes from Weiss, who was in turn struggling to not make eye contact with Ruby.  
"Not as much as you might think, considering that everyone knows where this place is. About twice a month."  
"What I find more interesting, is that this happened the day after we got here. that, and the ambush in the woods, makes me think they knew we were coming."  
Yang shook her head, beginning to sober. "I used a triple encoded sequence on that message, and bounced it through half a dozen radio channels. It was untraceable."

She glared at Weiss when she opened her mouth, and Weiss suddenly found something very interesting in the concrete at her feet.

Jaune had nodded in his agreement, but suddenly he walked away, as if he had forgotten about them completely. Pyrrha gave them a pained glance, then trotted after him. Ren and Nora followed, old habits being hard to break. The remaining group converged. With nothing to say, Ruby motioned them to head inside.

Once there, Ruby turned to the group and said "Weiss, would you do a favor for me? Head upstairs and move your stuff into my room. I need to talk with them for a moment."  
Weiss lit up, nodding and sprinting for the stairs. The elevators would be too slow. Ruby watched her go, her eyes fixed on the curves of her body, till she disappeared from view. Yang was confused, giving a quizzical look to her sister. "What about, Ruby?"

She wasn't going to try and kid herself about what Ruby would be doing with Weiss. She was half happy, half enraged, but with those emotions, she could not properly express either.

Blake seemed to know, but even she wasn't prepared for Ruby's delivery. "Blake wants to go out with you, and she asked for my help. I know your single right now, so go out with her. If I have to order you to, I will. Now, I'm going to help Weiss move your stuff into Blake's room, and then, if you value your lives, you will leave us alone for the next 24 hours."

She spun on her heel, and, activating her semblance, disappeared, leaving a trail of rose petals along the path she had taken.

Yang stood there, open mouthed, completely caught off guard. Blake, on the other hand, was either pissed or grateful, since her expressions for those emotions were defined more by her body than her face, it was harder to tell. Yang had, of course, considered her partner as a possible lover, but had always thought she was straight.

Then again, she only knew of 2 of her girl/boyfriends. She knew Blake had (briefly) gone out with Velvet, but had always assumed it had been more of an experiment than an actual relationship, especially after how it had ended. Both Blake and Velvet still had physical scars from the fight.

Blake sighed, turning to her and saying, "well, that wasn't exactly what I meant by help, but I guess in the end, she did do me a favor. So? What do you think?"

Her voice was filled with restrained hope, but it also seemed like she was prepared for rejection. However, Yang managed to smile. She had to admit, not only had her sister skillfully maneuvered her into a trap, she had left her with, A, no escape, and B, not wanting to escape. If there was one thing Yang was a sucker for, it was a straight forward delivery with a high stakes response.

"I think it's a fantastic idea. And I'm not just saying that. I had an eye on you in school, but I guess I fooled myself into thinking you were straight. Well, at least now I can do what I didn't get to do back then."

And with that, she pulled Blake into a heated kiss. And that was a literal meaning. Yang's body was like a heater blanket, warming Blake's skin while the kiss heated her insides. She was hardly a fast or easy girl, but something about the way Yang made her feel, how comfortable she was to press against, made her not want it to end. With an enormous effort, she managed to pull out of Yang's embrace.

Yang smiled at Blake's gasping breaths. She said "yeah, that tends to happen when people kiss me." she grasped Blake's hand, saying "I can take my time, but let me know if you want to feel that again."

She gave a sly smile, then turned and raced away, like her sister before her, stopping only to wink at Blake from the base of the stairs. Blake managed to catch her breath, then thought 'well, she did say to let her know' before sprinting after her.

Ruby entered the room to find Weiss's bags already in place, Yang's things piled haphazardly by the door. She gave Weiss a quick kiss, then together, they hauled the load into the room next door. Once that was done and over with, Weiss followed Ruby back to their room, shutting the door behind her.

She turned, about to ask a question, but suddenly found herself pressed against the door, the girl of her dreams pinning her wrists to the door and kissing her passionately. This time, there was no romantic images to distract them from their goal.

Ruby's battle dress, which Weiss had bought for her (disguised as a group gift, since she had bought battle attire for the whole team. Yang and Blake hadn't been wearing theirs, but Ruby had slipped hers on before the battle.) was decorated with red and black Rose vines, which trailed along the hems. Her red hooded cloak was still in place around her shoulders, 2 cross clasps holding them in place, but otherwise, the whole outfit had changed.

The hood possessed an ability of expansion or contraction, depending on the situation, which had been granted to the material itself from it's tailorer, Ruby's mother, covered a design that matched the symbol clasped around Weiss's neck, with the exception being that the snowflake was a glossy midnight black material, and the Rose a blood red that faded to black at the edges, a revursal on the color of her hair. The rest of the outfit was a lighter charcoal black, allowing the snowflake and the Rose to stand out.

The corset was actually integrated into the dress itself, allowing for ease of use. The laces of it were a stark neon red, which went surprisingly well with the colors of the dress. The high collared shirt fitted around Ruby's neck with a surprising snugness, a zipper concealed in the back. The collar was neither constricting nor uncomfortable, made from a silky light material that was both sturdy and comfortable. Instead of a skirt, the dress flowed into a skintight pair of pants, similar to Weiss's, which hugged her body well.

The pants were the same black as the shirt, but they had red stripes running down the side of her thighs,which, when looked at closely, would reveal Rose and snowflake designs trailing down the red expanse. The whole outfit actually appeared reminiscent of a knight, with the sleeves ending just above the elbow, baring her muscular forearms.

The outfit was designed for ease of use, and now it showed that, slipping off Ruby's body in seconds. Weiss's was a little harder, what with the knots it used instead of a zipper, like Ruby's, but they managed. In under 5 minutes, each wore only their hastily adorned undergarments. Ruby was rough, practically flinging Weiss onto the bed in her haste. Weiss found that she was enjoying the aggressive side of Ruby, and played the non-verbal submissive, laying still as she allowed Ruby to have her way.

Ruby kissed her again, more fiercely this time, hunger for her new lover over riding her need to check herself. She forced Weiss's lips open, jamming her tongue into Weiss's mouth. One of her hands held Weiss's hands together over her head, while her other hand unhooked the bra strap, then roughly griped Weiss's breast. Weiss gasped at the pressure, not sure if it hurt or if it felt good. She cried out as Ruby's mouth went from kissing to biting, the teeth sinking into her left shoulder, hard enough to break the skin, though the wound itself was minor.

Ruby sat back, a predator's smile on her lips, along with the red tint of blood. Weiss had the sudden thought that she was seeing a side of Ruby she didn't even know existed. 'Now i know how Velvet got the bruises'. Ruby licked her lips, clearing the blood from them, then turned her attention to the rest of Weiss's body. Her grip tightened on Weiss, and she cried out again, this time knowing it hurt, but also feeling the pleasure. It was a little odd for her, finding that such small pains held such significant pleasures. She couldn't help the ashamed blush that had flushed most of her face.

Ruby took Weiss's opposite nipple in her mouth, softly nipping at it as she felt it harden. She released Weiss's hands, reaching down and gripping Weiss's left leg, her thumb pressing into the flesh. Weiss was becoming more and more aroused, the treatment showing her just how much they had both wanted this. Pent up energies and repressed emotions were being forced out of them, pain, ecstasy, euphoria, sadness. They all came out in a torrent of burning hot pressure.

Ruby's free hand had slid down her stomach, taking one side of her panties, the massaging hand grabbing the other side, and pulling them down. Weiss was shaved bare (the carpet, unfortunately, matched the drapes, and Weiss had always found that the silver color had a rather unflattering effect.) Weiss's pussy was already wet, the sensitive skin glistening slightly in the light.

Ruby smiled again, this time almost sadistically, and cupped her hand over her target. Weiss spasmed under her. It had been quite a while since anyone but herself had touched her there, and she was very sensitive. The soft skin of Ruby's palm was pressed firmly against her clit, and her middle finger was curled along the crease of her lower lips. However, instead of doing anything, Ruby left her hand laying there, not moving, just teasingly resting. She leaned in, her lips less than an inch from from Weiss's ear, and whispered seductively.

"Ask for it, heiress."

The use of her title, instead of her name, made Weiss shudder, her whole body racked with a single movement. She couldn't stop herself. She said "please Ruby, just do it."  
Ruby laughed quietly, the sound husky and lustful in the moment, and said, "that's not good enough, love. you have to be very," she twitched her finger, and Weiss moaned, "specific."

Weiss stuttered, ashamed at what she was trying to say, but finally forced out "please, Ruby, put your fingers in me." She felt a burning in her cheeks and eyes as the words fell out, but Ruby seemed to be satisfied. Her finger curled once, sliding along the ridges, before pushing into the fold. Weiss couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her, a release of tension and the knotting sensation within her chest. A brief flicker of concern flashed across Ruby's face, but Weiss just shook her head, gulping air as she adjusted to this new feeling.

After a moment, Ruby saw she was alright, and began to move her finger back and forth in a sawing motion. Her slightly calloused knuckles dragged at the flesh, and Weiss began to breath hard, trying to cope with the foreign sensation. She couldn't remember much about what she had done with Nora, but it had been nothing like this. Her skin seemed to be on fire, a burning hot sensation building inside her. Ruby's finger brushed her g-spot, and her breath whooshed out it on ungodly moan, followed by the words, "more, Ruby!"

Ruby was happy to comply, her dominating act subsiding for the moment. As her finger continued to caress the inside of her new lover, her other hand traveled back to it's original position, massaging the smooth skin of Weiss's breasts, thumb rubbing against the erect nipples as it switched back and forth from left to right. The sensation was overwhelming, Weiss's thoughts becoming as sporadic as her breathing. How could it feel this good? She didn't know, and quite honestly, didn't care.

Ruby reached down between her legs with her free hand, fingers curling between her legs as she began to masturbate, the sensation matching Weiss's. Her own moans began to mingle with Weiss's, and Ruby could only hope the thick walls were enough to cover their sounds. If not, the soldiers were getting one hell of a pick up after the fight.

The rapidly fading winter light was all that illuminated the scene, the girls bodies wreathed in sunlight as they continued.

Weiss was melting, the heat continuing to build into a raging inferno. At one point, she thought 'I wonder if this is how Yang feels when she fights', but the thought had been blasted away by a thrust from Ruby's finger. Ruby was breathing with her, the air around them thick and warm. Sweat was building on their bodies, and Weiss's cries were getting a little louder with each thrust. Suddenly the heat of the fire leaped up, and Weiss gave a final cry as she orgasmed hard, her back arcing upward, her cry cutting off half way, as she came.

She was stuck in that position for what seemed like an eternity, her mind overloaded with the shear force of her ecstasy. Apparently, she blacked out, because when she regained consciousnesses, she found herself covered by one of the blankets, something soft and warm pressed gently against her side. She turned, looking into Ruby's silver eyes. She was surprised. It was dark out, meaning she had been out of it for quite a while. Much longer than she should have been. it had been approaching afternoon when they had started.

Ruby giggled at her confusion, saying "was it really so good that you passed out, or were you just so tired, you had to sleep?"

"Both, I think. That was amazing. Even Nor- I mean, no one else ever made me feel like that."

Ruby raised her eyebrow at the slip, but said nothing, snuggling closer. "This feels right. I guess I'm kinda glad it took us this long to find each other. I kinda think it would have been a train wreck if we had tried this back in school. The relationship I mean... not, you know, this" she waved her hand at Weiss's nude form.

Weiss nodded tiredly. She had no doubt that this relationship was more likely to survive thanks to their ages. Suddenly remembering, she said "That's what the necklace was. You were trying to confess to me, weren't you?"

"I was, but was a little intimidated by your girlfriend at the time. Wait a minute, the suit was a confession to, wasn't it?"

"I guess Yang was right. We are both unobservant. We should have known. But like you said, I'm glad we didn't."

"'m not sure I can say I love you, but I really do, Weiss."

"I know, and I love you too. What say we get some rest, and talk in the morning, though? I'm still tired as hell."

"Alright. Oh, um. I sort of have a message from Nora. She told me while we were still in school. She told me to tell you this if we ever got together."

"Oh? And what was it?"

Ruby leaned in close, whispering it in her ear. "You really are a tsundere."

Weiss's defiant shouts woke Yang in the room next door. She sat up, yawning, and said "damn it, whats the shouting about?"

Blake's arm wrapped around her waist, her breasts pressing against Yang's bare back. "Leave them to themselves. I was having a good dream. lets see if i can make it back."  
Yang turned, smiling at her. She kissed Blake, saying, "alright, alright. I need some more sleep anyway."

She curled up with her feline friend, and was soon asleep again.


	4. Fresh Blood

Yang woke to the tickling sensation of fur under her chin. Her eyes opened wide, and she tried to sit up. She panicked for a second when she realized she was pinned under something, then relaxed when she realized what, or more correctly, who, it was.

Blake was curled up on her chest, effectively holding Yang in place. A slight snore eased from Blake, who was using Yang's bare breasts as pillows. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The noise woke Blake, who sat up slowly, stretching. Yang admired the way her body moved, no longer in a hurry to get up.

Her muscles were lean, present but not overly defined, her body smooth and soft, unlike Yang's, which was a bundled cord of tight muscles and sex appeal, as she liked to think of herself.

Blake's hair was frizzy, but not puffy, adding a rather endearing effect to her. Her arms stretched up over her head, not caring to preserve any sort of modesty, her breasts jutting out healthily from her chest. Yang could feel a slight rise in her temperature as she observed this.

Blake's skin had a slight red flush to it, a consequence of being in such close proximity to Yang for too long.  
"Hot?" Yang asked, a wide grin cutting across her face.  
"My temperature or my looks?"  
A smirk this time. "Both."  
"You weren't kidding, Yang. I feel like I'm a million degrees."  
Yang continued to smile, her hand caressing Blake's skin, feeling the soft smooth perfection. The skin was regaining it's normal color, but still sported a slight reddish glow.  
"Yeah, I get that a lot. With how often I catch on fire, you would think it wouldn't surprise people, but it always does."

She let out a slight giggle as she sat up, draping her arm casually over Blake's shoulders.

Blake leaned into her. She felt good. Solid. Familiar. Blake was still trying to convince herself that this was real. That being said, she found a sour note in the moment.

Last night had been amazing, but so far, this hadn't exactly been what she meant when she said 'go out with you'. Of course, the adrenaline rush from the night before was probably to blame. It wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. Yang had drawn her in with that kiss, and had probably been suffering from the same thing. 'No,' she corrected herself. 'she most defiantly was.'

"What time is it?"  
Yang looked at her watch, sitting on the bedside table.  
"9:30 AM. Huh. I woulda thought we'da been out of it for longer."

Blake snorted, saying "that was good, but don't get full of yourself. It's going to take a lot more than last night to knock me out."  
Even as she said that, she tried to stand up. Her body wasn't working the way she wanted it to, ignoring her mental complaints as it tried to straighten. Her muscles were too loose, her legs struggling to hold her up. She leaned heavily on the wall, heading for the lockers. She snarled as she heard Yang stifle a laugh.

She managed to dress in her robe, and grab her toiletry bag, which was woefully under stocked, and stumbled out of the room, dazed. 'Damn it, Yang,' she thought as she tried to get her balance. She could hear Yang laughing through the open bedroom door. She slammed it shut, then pushed open the door across the hall. She managed to catch the counter before she fell.

She had to admit, Yang was phenomenal in bed. It would be better (or worse) if it weren't for her semi-destructive ability to be hotter than necessary. The heat added a sort of fuzziness to the whole situation, making Blake's mind loose it's sharp edge. It relaxed her a little too completely, dulling her senses. The animal inside didn't like that, and she had to force down the resentment that swelled at the interaction.

As she looked into the mirror above the sink, she reflected on her new relationship. It was nothing like her wrecks of the past, or her picture perfect fantasy novels. That being said, Yang was quite a refreshing person to be around. Velvet had always been reserved, shy, but with an even personality. They had broken up over the fact that Blake refused to show her ears in public.

In a moment of uncharacteristic bravery, Velvet had tried to take off her ribbon by surprise. Blake had retaliated purely on reflex, her fist slamming into Velvet's stomach. The resulting fight had broken through 2 walls, doing damage that, if it weren't for professor Goodwitch, would have cost the school hundreds of thousands of Lien in repairs.

As it was, that had proven to be an awkward meeting with Ozpin.

Only a month later, they had made up, but it had driven a wedge in their friendship. Her relationship with Adam, of course, had ended that day on the train. She still wasn't sure why he had let her go, but she tried not to dwell on it.

But Yang had always been different. Even before now, they had had a relationship unlike anything Blake had experience with. It was really Beacon that had brought them all together, but Blake couldn't help believing that some sort of fate had pushed them into this, forming the first real concept of family she had ever experienced.

Yang and Ruby had taken her in without a second thought, and she could still remember blushing when Ruby had squealed about how cute she was without her bow. She had always been very protective of her features, fearing objectasism and isolation. Yet Ruby and Yang hadn't given it a second thought. Weiss, of course, had swallowed her pride and apologized to her, even going a step further and changing her opinion as a whole (for the most part).

Yet the catalyst of the events had been Yang. To be perfectly honest, Blake had feared the fact that they had to form teams. How would she continue to hide her nature? And then in the beginning, when Yang had made the attempt to be friends (as Ruby had explained later, it had been Yang's idea), Blake had attempted to confine herself, although she had been caught off guard by Ruby's questions about her book, as well as her follow up explanation.

In the forest, Blake had been observing Yang, trying to work up the courage to show herself. She had been fascinated by her lack of fear as she strode through the trees, but the real show had started when Yang found the Ursi. Blake had considered jumping in to help, but decided to continue observing, which turned out to be the right choice.

After Yang started raging, Blake was transfixed, sensing the animal inside her partner. Yang was about as close to faunus as humans could get, harboring an inner animal so fierce it took over completely. That was what finally caused her to show herself. Ever since, Yang had proved time and again that they were meant to be together, whether as partners or something more, Blake had never been sure.

Yang was like a flame (forgiving the cliche), beautiful to look at, even better to be around, but constantly shifting, avoiding understanding and reason, and if she was ever let wild, she would destroy anything in her way. Blake wondered if she could somehow temper her... temper. It would be worth while to find out if she could calm Yang.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, then showering to rid the smell of sex and battle from her body. As she left, Yang passed her going in, and pinched her behind, closing the door before Blake could do anything in return.

As Blake waited for Yang to get out of the shower, she decided to read one of the few books she managed to fit into her pack. She decided to forgo her usual romance story in exchange for an action fantasy. The last thing she wanted to deal with was some sort of emotional collapse over how different life was from her books.

When Weiss woke the next morning, she was alone. She sat up, yawning as she stretched. Crumpled clothes littered the floor of the room, and she huffed slightly. Sex with Ruby hadn't changed her cleaning habits. She didn't want to remember what they had been doing just yet, so to distract herself, she picked up the clothes, placing them in two different lockers, hoping there would be some way to wash the post-battle gunk that covered them. She sighed as she held up her dress, which was streaked with mud. She had a clean(ish) set of clothes in her own locker, and she opened it to get to them.

She froze, unsure of what to do. Sitting on top of her clothes was what appeared to be the train of her battle dress. But she had just put that away. So how did it get over here? Then she saw that it lacked the designs along the hem. Even more confused now, she pulled the clothe out of the locker, and gasped.

Hanging from her fingers was a cloak of the exact same kind as Ruby's. The only difference was that it was pure white. It looked a bit like a plain of fresh powder snow, almost blinding to look at. From the clasping point below the hood hung 2 crystal snowflake pins.

"Do you like it?"

Weiss jumped as the soft voice whispered behind her. She turned slightly. Ruby had slipped into the room, quieter than she thought possible. She now stood only a few feet away, staring at the gift.

"I made that for you forever ago, but I was too scared to give it to you."

A quiet laugh sighed out of her. A gentle smile was on her face, but she seemed like she was staring off, eyes unfocused, remembering some far off time. It was almost sad. Weiss wasn't sure what she should be doing.

"I figured I'd put it where you would find it. Then I went to get us some lunch."

That was when Weiss noticed the wicker basket she had under her arm. It was also when she realized that Ruby was fully clothed while she was still bare. A blush rose up her neck, and her face burned. Despite the night before, she was beginning to realize that their relationship had not started off the way she had intended.

She had never been in this type of situation before, and there was something unnerving about letting Ruby look at her naked now. Unable to think of anything else, she wrapped herself in the cloak. She was surprised that it hung well below her knees. And that it was so warm.

"What's this made of?"

A mild, minty scent wafted from the fabric. It smelled like... winter (the season, not the sister), was the best word she could use to describe it. She breathed it in deeply. 'How cliche,' she thought.

"It's a Dustskin fabric. I bought it before things started to fall apart, and ended up wasting a lot. I'm not as good as my mom was, but in the end, it worked. It's size, hopefully, will change depending on your need of it. I'm still not sure if I did it right, since I didn't have time to test it before we came here."

Weiss's eyes went wide. Dustskin fabric was highly praised and very expensive. If Ruby had not only gone through the trouble of getting some, but also wasting any of it... She walked forward, the softness of the cloth surrounding her. She stopped just in front of Ruby, gently leaning forward and kissing her. It was sweet, but brief, and she pulled back as she felt Ruby's arms starting to curl around her.

"Wait, hold on."

Ruby's arms froze, and Weiss looked her in the eye. "You know I love you, Ruby, but to be quite honest, last night was only my second time. I know how relationships are supposed to work, and this, well, this isn't quite it. One night, our first night, was a mistake, no matter how amazing it was. It happened for the wrong reasons. For now,' she added, kissing her again,' lets keep it at this. When this is all over, then, well, we'll just have to see."

Ruby was visibly crestfallen, but she nodded, saying "I guess this was kinda thrown on us. I MAY have gotten the slightest bit carried away last night."

'That's a huge understatement' Weiss thought, and for the first time, she began to notice slight pains and twinges throughout her body. She slid out of Ruby's grasp, and said "I'm going to take a shower, see if this place has any hot water left. Why don't you get... did you say lunch? What time is it?"

Ruby smirked and said "it's almost 2 o'clock." Weiss grimaced. She wasn't used to waking up so late. Her hair must be a mess. She gave Ruby one last kiss, then grabbed her shower bag from her locker and rushed across the hall to one of the bathrooms. It wasn't till she got there that she realized she was still wrapped in the cloak... And that she had no other clothes. She slammed her palm against her forehead.

As she took off the simple garment, she looked it over. Despite what Ruby said, the workmanship was fantastic. It would also go perfectly with her battle dress. It was much lighter than the train, and was somehow warmer. It almost felt as if Ruby was wrapped in it with her. That thought brought the blush back, but was in itself a very pleasant feeling. She held the fabric to her chest, her eyes closed, and imagined the feel of Ruby wrapped around her. Suddenly an ugly thought reared it's head, and she shuddered.  
'What will you do when she dies?'

The question itself wasn't the most disturbing thing. She had thought similarly many times. It was the wording that threw her. It was not an if, it was a when. When... But she shook her head, clearing the thoughts as she prepared to do the thing she dreaded the most. She turned to the mirror set in the wall, and let out a yelp.

Standing before her was her battered body replica. A large red welt was set on her left shoulder, the skin broken on the bottom of the bite mark. She had a running bruise that spread across one wrist, then connected to the bruise on her opposite wrist, clear signs of fingers, a palm... a similar mark was on the inside of her thigh. Her skin was covered in darkish marks from her lover's hand where she had squeezed too hard. A low whistle escaped her lips as she saw the carnage. It was slightly impressive.

She concentrated hard, activating her aura and focusing it on the damaged areas. The bruises disappeared one by one, but the love bite only faded a bit. Somehow, it was resisting her efforts to heal it. She snarled, but her anger didn't change anything. The angry red welt stared back at her, and she sighed.  
'Damn it, Ruby.'

Ruby laid out the food she had pilfered from the mess hall. Technically, it closed at 1:00, but such rules didn't apply when you leave the doors unlocked. She had some cooked rice, a few pieces of fish, and a small salad she had thrown together. And a small bag of cookies she had hidden in her locker. To drink she had found some bottles of water, as well as half a bottle of red wine, which was from one of the Schnee vineyards.

She hid this as well, wanting to save it for a special occasion, but she couldn't wait long. The last thing she needed was to try and give Weiss sour wine from her own vineyard. (While she had been in school, she had been given ownership of three vineyards to prepare her for the responsibility of running her family's company.)

When Weiss returned, she saw Ruby had dragged one of the desks from the walls to use as a table, an appetizing meal spread out over the cheap wooden surface. Suddenly she realized she hadn't eaten in almost 37 hours, and her stomach growled. She and Ruby tore into the food, trying to refill their stomachs. Half way through it, though, Weiss put down her fork, and took a deep breath. The gesture was habitual, and Ruby immediately knew they were about to have a serious talk. She swallowed her food and followed suit (not wanting to upset Weiss by speaking with her mouth full.)

"So, I guess we're dating now."

It was simple, appropriate. It was a statement, which meant Ruby had no immediate obligations to respond, but she nodded, saying "Yeah, we are. And I'm glad, I think. Now that I've had time to think, I agree. While last night was amazing, I... I think it was kind of a mistake. I was so full of adrenaline from that fight. I guess I was having what Yang calls the 'after-battle blues'."

Weiss was slightly confused. "'blues?' As in sad?"

Ruby nodded. "yesterday, during the fight, an older man, probably late 50's, was fighting next to me. He was good, to. He cut through the Grimm the same way we do. Then he slipped. I was distracted, and I didn't see it. Not until it was too late. He was right next to me, then he was gone. It was so sudden, so brutal, I... I thought of my dad."

She trailed off, not sure where she was trying to go. Tears where slowly leaking from her silver eyes, and the look on her face was breaking Weiss's heart. She reached forward, her hand gently caressing Ruby's soft cheek, the palm turning slick from the water on her face. Ruby leaned into it, the small amount of contact enough to put her at ease.

"Are you afraid of death?" Weiss asked.  
"Not mine."  
"Mine?"  
"Yes. And Yang's. And Blake's. And Jaune's and Pyrrha's and Ren's and Nora's. I'd never considered my dad would die. He was always there. Now he's gone. I don't know where my uncle is. I have no idea what I would do if I lost one of you. Especially you."

Her own hand was now holding Weiss's cheek, and Weiss was surprised to find herself crying as well. Her face was smooth, shocked. She tried to speak, but could find nothing to say.

A brittle smile found it's way to Ruby's face, and she said "it might be easier to lose my sister than you. That sounds bad, I know. But the two of us have always been ready to die. We even had plans laid out in case one of us died training at Beacon. But then you and Blake entered the equation. Now, I'm so churned up, if I lost either of you, I might kill myself, or worse."

Weiss was frozen for a second longer, then shouted "NO!" as she threw herself across the table. She tackle-hugged Ruby, who had gone from brooding to shocked in half a second. Food containers and utensils scattered. Ruby found herself flat on her back with Weiss's arms locked around her as her new girlfriend cried into her chest.

After a moment, Weiss sat up, looking at her fiercely, and said "you take that back right now, Ruby Rose! You are not allowed to kill yourself! If you don't take that back right now, I will never speak to you again! Do I make myself clear?"

Ruby was shaken, and stuttered out, "a-alright, fine w-Weiss."  
"Say it!"  
"I won't kill myself."  
"Promise me, or I will leave right now!"  
"I promise! I, Ruby Rose, promise never to kill myself."  
Weiss sat up straighter, satisfied. Her face was still wet, but she glared down at Ruby with a conviction only she could possess. "I never want to hear you say something like that again."

Ruby smiled, her hand reaching around and wiping the wetness from her face.  
"Well, that was interesting."  
"What?"  
"I never expected you to react that way. Although I was expecting you to hate me."

A sudden slap across the face snapped Ruby out of the last vestiges of whatever mental fumble she had fallen into. She stared at Weiss, confused, shocked, and a little more than slightly aroused. Weiss's face was beat-red, and she looked like she was going to hit her again.

Instead, she bent down and kissed Ruby hard. She sat up, yet again, and said "as long as we are making promises, I promise never to hate you, no matter what idiotic action you take. I love you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby laughed, and said "would you still love me if I took advantage of the fact that your naked and straddling me?"

That was when Weiss realized that when she had lept across the desk, the cloak had caught, pulling free of her shoulders, and that she was currently sitting astride Ruby, completely exposed. she blushed heavily, one arm curling around her chest to preserve some modesty. She managed to stand, rushing over to the lockers and grabbing her last clean set of clothes. She stepped into the side room, leaving behind a laughing Ruby.

When they finished cleaning up, they headed out, trying to find the rest of their team. After almost an hour of looking (if you could call it that. It was mostly wondering around, holding hands and calling out every once in a while), Ruby finally pulled out her scroll and called Yang. They found the other new pair in the look out tower, a wide, open room at the top of the structure. From there they had a perfect view of the surrounding plain.

The military base was in the middle of a small, deserted town. The outlying structers had been demolished by Grimm and the elements, and there was little to be seen of anything beyond the wall. Small groups of soldiers could be observed patrolling, or gathering materials from the surrounding wreckage to try and patch the southern wall, which looked like an insane builder's plaything.

5 miles to the west was a small expanse of forest, where they had been attacked. To the north and the east, the plains spread out into Grimm infested wild lands, while to the south, a small mountain range pushed up from the snow covered ground. Every way they looked, small groups of Grimms could be seen wandering through the badlands.

A group of elephantines were marching single file into the forest, stripping leaves off the trees. A smaller group of Blood Claws ran along the plains, achieving impressive speeds in the process.

"So," Yang said. Nobody responded. "things happened yesterday."  
Weiss rolled her eyes, but Blake and Ruby laughed.  
"I'd say that's a bit of an understatement, sis."  
"No kidding."  
"Dolt."  
Yang said nothing, just looking out over the landscape. Then her face lit up.  
"Oh, hey, we were supposed to be receiving reinforcements today. Another group of hunters.  
This caught the others' attention.  
"When did you hear this?" Ruby said.

"Jaune caught up with me the day we got here, after you had your meltdown (Ruby let out a indignant grunt, but Yang ignored it). They're called ZWLB, although their individual names weren't mentioned. They're supposed to be here today."  
"Are they vets or something?"

Yang shook her head. "No, graduates, Fresh out of Beacon. Ozpin and the others are doing what they can to hold Vale together, but he thought we could use these guys. Jaune didn't tell me the whole story, though, and I don't know much about them."

"Why? Why send fresh students to go fight on the front lines? They'll be killed!" Ruby was furious. Ozpin had made a mistake. No matter what experience they had in school, there was no way they would be ready for fighting. As is, RWBY had almost died just trying to get here. "They shouldn't be here."

Blake shook her head, saying, "not according to Jaune. He says he met them, and they have proved their worth on the battle field. He's the reason they're coming here."

Both Ruby and Weiss were surprised. Jaune more than anyone should know that bringing new graduates into such an environment was lethal, either to them or whoever died trying to protect them.

Before Ruby could think, she turned and jumped off the tower roof. Had it been anyone else, it might have been an attempted suicide, but for Ruby it was just the fastest way to the ground floor. she unsheathed her weapon, unfurling it halfway, and fired it straight down, the high velocity bullets slamming into the ground far below, the recoil reducing her fall.

As she neared the bottom floor, she hurled Crescent Rose, which cut into the ground with it's hilt blade, and landed on the back of the scythe itself, scaring the hell out of a group of privates who, moments before, had been chilling in the sun, enjoying a rare moment of warmth.

Ruby didn't even give them a glance as she raced inside, pushing through the double doors and sprinting across the atrium. She slid to a stop in front of the door to the war room, and kicked it open.

"Just what in the he-" was as far as she got before a pair of naked blades pressed against her throat, and someone yelled "STOP!"

Ruby was frozen in the doorway, a tall male faunus standing in front of her. Behind him were 2 female faunus' and a male human. Behind them were spread the members of team JNPR. And the faunus before her had twin swords pressed against her jugulars.

The faunus snarled, then said in a deep voice, "do you know her, Jaune?"

"Yes, she is a guest here, and I would much appreciate you lowering your weapons."

The man snorted, then, with a flourish, sheathed his swords and stepped back. Ruby was wary. He had a haunted look in his eyes, the kind that only appeared when a person had been utterly and completely broken. She could feel part of his pain in his movements, his speech. The others still looked wary. When she had burst in, all 4 of the newcomers had drawn weapons.

The human had drawn a spear from somewhere, which had a glowing red tip. The 2 faunus had drawn similar(ish) weapons. One had a pair of Elbow Blades, or Tonfas in their native language. The ritual weapons used by the southern tribes of the world, they were built more for defense than offense. The other had a set of unique katars, an interesting wrist weapon that looked like brass knuckles on steroids.

They sheathed there weapons as well, and relaxed as if nothing had happened. Ruby was shaken, her well thought out speech flushed from her mind at the sudden interruption. Jaune had the nerve to look slightly miffed as he asked her, "is there something you need, Ruby? I'm a little busy at the moment."

Ruby suddenly remembered why she had come here, and said, "I heard you called for another hunter team. You should know as well as anyone that bringing fresh graduates to the front is a horrible idea!"

"Ruby-" he tried to say, but she wasn't finished.

"Any inexperienced youths will just be a nuisance here, and I will not have anymore people die because they weren't prepared for this. How could you bring students out into this war? Isn't it bad enough that we have to be here at all?"

Throughout her brief speech, several different emotions flashed across the faces of the 4 newcomers. One seamed to be expressing pity, which just pissed Ruby off. Another, the human, looked indignant, while the female cat faunus (who was disturbingly similar to Blake, except with auburn hair with black stripes) appeared to be bored. The one that really got on her nerves, though, was the male cat faunus, who looked amused by her arguments.

"If you have such a problem with them being here, why don't you tell them to go home, then? They're standing right in front of you." Jaune said it with a rather scary looking smile, made all the worse by his scar.

Ruby was struck with silence as she took another look at the 4 people who moments before had been ready to kill her. They did not have the feel of students. She remembered how she had been right out of school. Even at Beacon, they only taught you so much. What missions they sent you on where generally pretty straight forward and simple, and, while dangerous, they were hardly more than an endurance challenge.

This group had real world experience. Although Ruby would never admit it, their reaction to her intrusion was impressive.

"If your the new team, would you explain why you are here?"

"Because you general asked us to be," the human responded. His cocky air and tone was really pushing Ruby's patience.

The rest of her team entered then, almost as abruptly as she had, and once again, the newcomers drew their weapons. This time, Ruby was able to observe. She was shocked to find that the female feline's weapons were pulled out of thin air.

"Relax, please. They are friends. I'm sure Ozpin has told you all about team RWBY. For you, this is team ZWLB. It seams their particular mix of letters stumped Ozpin."

Yang, Jaune, and the male faunus laughed. The others were either still on alert, or simply remaining silent.

"Hey, I'm Yang, the interrupter here is my little sister, Ruby, the white haired one is Weiss, and this one here is Blake. Nice to meacha!"  
Yang's rather overstated greeting seamed to relax the room.  
"So, why are they here, Jaune?"  
Ruby wasn't as angry anymore, but she was still upset. She could tell that they were talented, and that they had resolve. If not for her ability to stop on a dime, she would have been decapitated coming through the door.  
"They are here for two reasons. One, they are as skilled as anyone i have ever met, present company included, and come with a pre-Beacon streak of rather unpleasant nature. And two, because we need all the help we can get. I said yesterday that we had them on the run, but the attack proves quite the opposite. In fact, I think that attack was out of spite. I have a feeling there are spies here, which is why, currently, only the twelve of us are in this room."

"You may be ready to accept help from some fresh meat, but I need something more. I want to see what they can do."  
"Ruby, be reasonable-"  
Ruby turned to the male faunus, who was obviously the leader, and said "what are your names?"

He smiled, revealing four sharpened fangs along with his other teeth, and said "I will not give that information away freely. You say you don't want us here, because you don't want us hurt, but we don't know you. If there is a possibility of sabotage and spies, then we will keep to ourselves. Even Juane does not know our names, and he is the only one here that I trust."

Ruby went instantly cold. The whole room could feel it. However, before she could act on it, Weiss stepped forward. She placed one arm around Ruby's shoulders, then said, "how about this. Lets have a little contest."  
The big faunus's eyes narrowed. "What kind of a contest?"  
"We'll spar, wholeheartedly, no half assing. If we win, you tell us your names. If you win, I don't know, what would you want?"

The man seamed to think it over, but in all likely hood he had probably been thinking something similar. "If we win... I want her to explain her animosity towards us."

Weiss felt Ruby stiffen, and indeed, she herself reared at his words. Though they were spoken innocently enough, there was something about the way he said it that made the atmosphere drop another few degrees.  
Ruby simply said "fine."  
She turned and swept out of the room, Weiss's arm still around her.


	5. Friendly Fire

Weiss stood in the corner of a relatively empty training room, watching as Ruby strode back and forth, swinging Crescent Rose in a wide arc around her. Ruby had been raging for the better part of an hour, pacing the room like a caged animal.

"They shouldn't be here, Weiss, and you know it. The fact that Jaune would bring them here on a whim is enough to make me want to give him another scar. I swear, he hasn't changed at all. He's still that stupid kid from the country, doesn't know how to do anything right. I don't care how qualified they are. They probably haven't even taken their first real Hunter job."

Weiss couldn't help it. She laughed.

Ruby glared at her. "What's so funny?"

"You haven't changed as much as you'd like to think, Ruby. You're still the same girl I met on my first day at Beacon. You're tough, but you're still a child in so many ways. I was worried that I would never get to see you being a kid again. But now I have."

"Are you saying that I'm being unreasonable?" Ruby forced herself to calm a bit. Going over it in her mind, she noticed her voice had cracked half way through her speech, and that it had become increasingly whiny as it progressed. Inside, she sighed. 'I was being childish, I guess.'

"No, I'm saying that it's good that you're still here. And I agree with you. These newcomers shouldn't be here. Not yet, anyway. But I also know next to nothing about them. That's why I said a sparing contest. I'm interested in how they can handle themselves."

As she finished, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha walked in.

"We set the time for the match in a few hours. It's set up for one on one displays, but it's not preset, so you guy's can choose who fights who when the match starts."

Pyrrha was nervous, obviously worried Ruby would demand an explanation from her. But Ruby had calmed enough to know that getting upset about it wasn't going to fix anything.

"That's fine. Why don't you go and make sure Jaune's alright? I don't want him to be to upset with me."

Pyrrha was relieved, and left with a nod. The girls converged in the center of the room.

"So how do you want to play this, Ruby?" Yang was feeling good, always ready for a fight.

"I want to take on the leader, obviously, but as far as the others go, I don't know. How do you guys feel?"

Weiss said, "I'll take on the spear user. He looks like the least experienced one, so I want to see how strong he is. Although the rabbit faunus would be a close second." She didn't mention that she had chosen the spear user for the fact that he had an incredibly cocky air to him. 'Reminds me of my early days at Beacon.

Blake thought about it for a second, then said "I liked the weapons that the cat faunus had. I guess I'll take her on. I'm curious as to how she uses them."

"I guess that leaves the rabbit for me. But don't underestimate them. Even if it was a bad idea, Ozpin wouldn't have sent them if he didn't think they were capable."

The others nodded, but each one secretly thought they had an easy win.

The 2 teams met in a wide, walled off arena set on the north side of the fortress, shaped like a circle, which was about 100 yards across and divided evenly into 4 types of terrain. One quarter was filled with short but thick trees, another had sand dunes, one was wide grass, and the last was rocky and uneven.

The arena had been installed when the fortress had been first constructed, and Jaune, after retaking the base, had commissioned it to be fixed up and maintained for training purposes. It was a marvel to look at. The trees and grass were maintained by the soldiers, who upheld their duties diligently. Nothing like a bit of gardening in wartime.

Each fight would take place in a different section, and each of the sections were walled off themselves. It was meant to train new troops to fight in as many situations as they could, but in this case, the fights would happen one at a time, and each would be observed by the members not participating. Also observing were a hundred or so off duty soldiers, many of whom were placing bets. From what they could tell, the soldiers were banking largely on RWBY to come away as the victor. Yang fed on the hype of the crowd, enjoying the feeling they gave her. Weiss, on the other hand, was rather sickened by it, having been forced to perform since she was a young girl. 'Tune them out,' she thought to herself.

First up was Blake and the feline women. They had agreed to fight in the trees. Due to the cover of the canopy, the observers would be relying on mobile camera drones as well as stationary cameras within the trees themselves.

Before she jumped in, Blake kissed Yang on the cheek and whispered, "when this is over, we need to talk."

Without waiting for a response, she dropped in on one corner of the small forest, while the other faunus did the same on the opposite side. The two teams and the crowd settled in to watch. A holo-screen appeared above the station, and projected multiple camera views for the gathered crowd.

Blake landed softly on the floor of the forest. The trees were only about 20 feet tall, so hopefully it wouldn't restrict her movement too much. Do to her fighting style, she preferred open encounters to these close quarter, walled off spaces. She was a fair distance from where her opponent had entered.

"START!"

Jaune was acting as announcer to the fights, and his voice rang out over the arena.

She decided that offense was probably her best bet, and began sprinting through the trees towards her opponent, moving swiftly, sometimes using the trees as spring boards as she bounded through the growth.

She made the halfway point between where they had started, and saw her opponent had had the same idea. They caught sight of each other almost simultaneously. Blake smiled to herself, and charged her opponent, unsheathing Gambol Shroud. Her opponent had already drawn her weapon, which was different than before. Now she had a katana, a single edge blade with a slight curve in it. The weapon was made of blood red steel, with a black and red cross pattern along the hilt. An unfamiliar character was etched into the blade just above the cross guard.

They met in the middle of a slightly larger than normal gap between some trees, and the fight began.

Ruby was mildly surprised by the change in weapons, but decided that it was probably for the best. Katanas had very set and standard fighting styles, greatly reducing the odds of her preforming unexpected maneuvers. She did notice that the spear user had a smug smile on his face.

Gambol Shroud clashed with the katana, Blake having kept the weapon in one piece for now. A shower of sparks rained from the point where they connected, and in that moment, Blake got her first real look at her opponent.

She was short-ish, standing at about 5'4", with shoulder length burnt auburn hair streaked with black stripes. Her ears were orange on the outside, black on the inside, and her skin was very pale, looking almost like Weiss's. She had no makeup or eyeliner on. Her eyes where an attractive green color.

She wore an elegant, yet simple outfit, a tight black sleeveless leather jerkin and form fitting, yet flexible black pants. She also wore black shoes that wouldn't have looked out of place on a ballet studio floor. Her movements were sure and swift, and behind them was a strength that must have been born from a rough early life. Her eyes showed little, if any, emotion.

The clang of their swords was undercut by the talk of the hundred or more soldiers watching. They were evenly matched, but each also kept close to the ground, striking, countering, and blocking as they felt out each others' techniques. Blake found that the girl was playing mostly defensively, focusing on blocking more than striking. during one particularly vicious exchange, however, she suddenly dropped into a crouch, spin kicking. Blake was thrown into the air, and the girl came upward with a slash, the force of it throwing her back.

Blake landed on her feet, slashing hard and intercepting an incoming strike, knocking it away and lashing out at the presented opening. The girl raised her arm, blocking the strike with her aura.

The two broke away from each other, taking stances across the small bit of open space. Deciding it was best to end this early, since she had only wanted to fight her to see her use her other weapons, Blake split Gambol Shroud in two, and attacked in earnest. It started out pretty even, despite the drastic differences in fighting styles. Somehow, the newcomer was able to predict and defend against all her attacks, while making no attempt of her own.

Blake gave a dual slash, attempting to cross cut her opponent, but she moved back, slashing with her katana at Blake's leg. Blake jumped upward, using the Shroud to block as her sword slashed, sliding across the woman's aura and forcing her to the ground. The woman twisted, kicking her legs out at opposing angles as she stood on her hands. Blake was forced back as her foot struck shroud, the force jarring her hand and forcing her to drop it.

Now armed simply with her sword, she opened fire, rounds of elemental ammunition flying at high speed towards the girl. Her motions suddenly increased in speed, and she held her ground, slicing at the ammunition as her body blurred. The air in front of her filled with explosions, electricity, and frost as she blocked or sliced the ammunition to pieces. As Gambol clicked empty, Blake dropped the spent magazine, diving forward and grabbing Shroud, which she used to block an incoming strike from her opponent.

Blake managed to load another magazine between strikes as they reengaged. Their movements were pantomime, grace all but forgotten in their dance of blade and bullet. But neither could gain ground as the fought. Blake had avoided using her semblance, having thought she could win without it. But now...

Finally, Blake purposefully left an opening, trying to get her to exploit it. The girl did, her katana attempting to land a savage hit against her leg. In that split second, Blake smiled. Her pistol went off, and she jumped back. In her place now stood a replica made of ice, in which her opponent's sword was embedded. Her shadow double had been augmented with Dust, to create an elemental copy.

The newcomer, instead of trying to recover her weapon, jumped back between two trees. She stood there for a moment, eyes assessing the situation without notable emotion. With a wave of her hands, a new pair of weapons appeared. They were the katars from before, a pair of slim metal gauntlets, from which protruded three long blades that hooked at the end, like claws. The inside edges of the blades were heavily serrated.

Blake took all this in as fast as she could. 'So her semblance must be related to some sort of displacement, allowing her to reach through space, or perhaps into a space, and pull out an item that exists within that space.'

It seemed like a reasonable assumption, and it looked like it fit her well.

Ruby was suddenly very worried. When the newcomer had switched weapons, her stance and style had changed dramatically. Hopefully, Blake would be able to read her movements, but Ruby was no longer sure how this bout would end. 'I guess its my job to worry.'

'That must be what the spear user was so smug about.' Yang thought, before returning her attention to the fight.

Blake stayed where she was, allowing herself to rest for a brief moment. The fight up to now, though it had been short, had been fierce, and the new weapons concerned her. Her opponents stance was unorthodox, and appeared to have both an excess of openings, and no openings. A rookie could be tricked into thinking their opponent was completely exposed, while a veteran might think the defense was too perfect.

Luckily, this wasn't the first time she had seen this stance, although it was the first time she would be fighting against it. Still, she had no clue how her opponent would attack her.

'Guess there's only one way to find out.'

She ran at her opponent, kicking off from a tree as she leaped into the air, planning to dispatch her in one moment. Her opponent raised her weapons as if to block, but left a significant gap towards her right arm. Blake altered her swing.

Gambol Shroud connected with her opponent's shoulder... And passed right through it. Blake hit the ground rolling, her sixth sense saving her as she straightened her legs and launched herself into the air, catching herself on the branch of a tree. A second behind her action was the sound of metal catching dirt as her opponent's weapons sliced through the place she had been moments before.

They made eye contact, and Blake's eyes narrowed. For a moment, it had appeared that... but no, she must have missed, that was all.

Her opponent swung her left arm, and suddenly the claws that had been attached to her gauntlets shot out, flying at Blake with ridiculous speed. Blake dodged again, noticing that the claws were connected to thin wires that trailed back to the gauntlet. She lunged at the wires in an attempt to cut them, but with a hissing noise, the wires retracted, bringing the claws with them. Blake flinched as she felt the metal draw across her aura.

She tried to redirect her movements, but suddenly found the other pair of claws pressing against her throat...

Ruby was watching the screen, wide eyed. Blake's opponent had done something impossible.

"Did you see that?" Yang asked.

"Yes. It was only for a moment, but there's no denying it." Weiss responded.

The newcomer had used Blake's semblance. There was no other explanation. For just a moment, before Blake made contact, the opponent had jumped to the side, leaving an exact copy in her place.

'Blake, did you see what she did?'

Blake winced as Ruby's high pitched voice rang out from her ear piece.

"Yes" she said. There was no denying it. One minute, the blades had been caressing the skin of her arm, the next there was a set at her throat. Blake had managed to perform a simple maneuver, getting out of her opponent's hold and striking back. But her blade just passed through her opponent, who now stood a good 10 feet away.

Somehow, her opponent was able to use her own power against her.

"What should I do?"

'That's up to you. All we are trying to do is see what they are capable of. Well, we know what she can do, and you've already sustained pretty significant damage. The aura reader says you're at about 75% of your starting aura. If you want to keep going, then that's up to you. She's at around 82%."

"I'm going for it. I'm more than a little pissed off right now."

'That's my girl. Kick some ass for me!' (Yang, obviously.)

"You got it."

With that, she charged at the girl.

Now using her semblance regularly, the combat became chaotic to the extreme, each working to out maneuver the other. At times, it appeared there were four combatants, the copies and the originals almost indistinguishable. Blake's mind went into overdrive as she was forced to keep track of a her opponent's multiple movements. Her claws now allowed her to block both of Blake's strikes. Blake pushed back, however, and her own offensive managed to land numerous strikes against her opponent.

The girl jumped back, opening a sizable space between them, and lashed her arms out to either side. The claws rained down towards Blake. She was forced to dodge them for the most part, but they moved like they had a life of their own, striking, pulling back, and slashing again. Her opponent stood straight, hands held aloft as she manipulated the wires and the blades.

Blake began to send shadow blades in her opponents direction, seeking to disrupt her. But her blades ran against the girl's own claws. The result was rather spectacular as the shadow blades exploded in a shower of dust, creating a wall of smoke between them. Suddenly, neither had a view of the other. Blake saw an opportunity and turned, running in the opposite direction, cutting through the trees as she sought to ambush her opponent.

She caught sight of the girl, standing in the middle of the clearing as the smoke dissipated. Her eyes were closed, and her back was to Blake's position. Blake went quiet as she approached the girl through the trees. Despite the crowd above, a near silence settled over the scene. She moved fast, but silently, reentering the clearing, mere feet behind her target, and launched herself into the air, her sword flashing as she sought to strike down her opponent.

"Three fractured ribs, and a broken arm. Mild leg fracture. A dozen large cuts, three times that many smaller cuts and bruises between the two of them. Luckily there was no internal damages. I'm a little amazed you didn't stop fighting. I'm not entirely surprised, since you Hunters have next to nothing in common sense, I suppose."

A pretty, young field medic was going over both of the girls, who had sustained multiple injuries. Even after their auras had been depleted, they had kept fighting, until Yang and the rabbit faunus had jumped in and dragged them apart.

The match was declared a tie by Jaune. Neither of the 2 had sustained lasting or debilitating injury's, and the rabbit faunus had volunteered to heal both party's, explaining that her semblance was the ability to manipulate a body's inner workings, increasing chemical inputs and outputs, locking down or relaxing muscles, and even manipulating mental currents, which could be used to heal injuries in minutes that usually took days or even weeks.

Afterwards, Blake had sulked off, Yang going after her. The rabbit faunus stayed next to the cat faunus, who had fallen asleep on a stretcher bed. Judging from the way she curled up next to her, they were likely a couple.

"So, I guess that means I'm next," Weiss said. It had been unsettling to watch the girls go at it that hard, and she was mildly unnerved at seeing Blake loose control the way she had. She was usually so level headed.

"Remember, don't underestimate them. He may look inexperienced, but I have a feeling there's more to that boy than we know."

"Don't worry, love. I'll be fine."

She gave Ruby a quick kiss, then turned and jumped into her arena. This time, the fight would take place in the flat, grassy plain.

'I hope,' she thought, as she prepared for the battle.

Her opponent stood a good 50 yards away. That was a fairly short distance, and she prepared a speed glyph while she waited for the announcement to start.

...

...

...

"START!"

She released the glyph, sprinting towards her own opponent, who leveled his spear on her, and...

She altered her course just in time, as the newcomer fired a high caliber round from his spear, which had turned into a rifle of some kind. Unable to fully control her turn, she was now more than 20 degrees off of her original course. During her alteration, however, her opponent lunged at her, spear tip glowing oddly. Thanks to her flexibility, she had ducked under it while simultaneously kicking him in the stomach.

Weiss, having too much momentum to simply stop, created another glyph in front of her, jumping and kicking off from it as she changed her direction back towards her opponent. While in the air, she lashed out with her foot again, kicking him in the face and sending him flying.

Having finally spent her momentum, she stood her ground, waiting to see what he would do.

He stood slowly, stretching his neck as he checked for damage. He was 5'7" with light blond hair and a light tan. His weapon was a 5 foot maroon colored wooden staff with a glowing red spear head, and 2 small switches in the middle of the staff itself. Judging from the way he handled it, he was proficient with it in a way only a Hunter could be.

He hit one of the switches, and suddenly smoke began to pour from the butt of the spear, which he started spinning in his hands.

The smoke poured out at an alarming speed, spreading out in a thick sphere to engulf the pair. Weiss activated another glyph, launching herself clear of the smoke, but apparently, that was the plan. As she cleared the envelope, the boy appeared next to her, the handle of the staff slamming into her stomach. She was thrown backwards, twisting in midair, and managed to gain her footing at the last minute, but another shot rang out, and she had to hurl herself sideways to avoid the point of the spear as it buried itself into the ground.

The spear user had made a mistake this time, having thrown the spear rather than attempting to fight her with it. The move seamed habitual, likely used to dispatch opponents quickly, given his combination of moves prior to that. In all likely hood, Weiss was supposed to have been speared. Now unarmed, however, he would be unable to defend against her attacks. She rushed him, moving with grace as she barely touched the ground, sliding past him as she slashed him, her sword cutting across his midsection. The boy was spun in a circle, but his spear hurtled through the air toward the pair of them, and he grabbed it, using his force to slam the flat across her back and again send her off course.

Weiss gritted her teeth, and used another glyph to hurtle into the air, back flipping over another of his strikes. He was spinning his spear with great speed, forming an almost solid wall between them as he smirked at her. "Come now, Heiress, show me what you're made of." His voice rang out in a patronizing manner and she breathed. With a little twirl, she spun in a circle, her sword flashing. A blast of fire blew outward like a flame thrower, engulfing her opponent. But the stream split around his spear, and he began to sprint towards her. As the flame ended, he was suddenly less than a foot away from her.

They engaged, blade against haft, as a flurry of precise strikes rained from them both. Weiss was forced on the defense, her speed suddenly not enough to match her opponents power. The tip of his spear ran down the length of her sword, and she felt heat coming from the tip in waves. She forced herself backward, and created a glyph in front of her, blowing her opponent into a backwards tumble. She took advantage of the opening, using another to propel her forward on light feet. She struck him, point to chest, his aura absorbing the damage but not the impact. He was thrown further, striking the wall of the arena before falling down.

He landed on his knees, but recovered quickly. In her haste, she had rushed in again, seeking to take down a helpless opponent, but she was met with a kick to her exposed side as he kicked her up and over him. She hit the wall sideways, jarring her arm. The sword fell from nerveless fingers as she fell to the ground, where her opponent was waiting. He grabbed her arm and, with surprising strength, threw her. While she was in the air, he set off the charge in the base of his spear again.

The spear sailed through the air towards her, but she managed to twist, activating a glyph to stabilize her. She then gripped his spear as it tried to sail past her. Now armed, she dropped down to the ground, where a second glyph was waiting. She sailed along the ground towards her opponent, who stood, an arm out to either side as if he was planning to stop her momentum. she clenched her teeth.

When they were mere feet from each other, she spun, using the haft of his spear to knock the boy aside. But he grabbed the haft as it struck him,and as he went flying it was ripped from her grasp. However, now he was flat on his back, and her path had taken her within reach of her fallen sword, which she took up as she passed.

she bled off her momentum, stopping on a dime and turning towards her enemy. A third glyph appeared beneath her, this one meant to enhance her physical performance, and she jumped, flying high into the air as Myrtenaster glowed in her hands.

A bolt of lightning flew from the end of her sword, consuming some of the Dust in the reserve, and blasted down towards her enemy. With a resounding explosion, a massive hole was blown into the ground. Smoke, dirt, and bits of grass obscured her vision, but she moved quickly, landing and sprinting into the crater to confirm her victory. Her opponent was no where to be seen.

"I forfeit."

The voice came from the rim of the crater. She exited it warily, finding the spear user, spear in hand, leaning on it as the blade cut into the ground at his feet. A sizzling sound was coming from there, and Weiss caught the scent of burning grass.

"What did you say?" Weiss asked. She was fuming, her attack appearing to have done no damage at all.

"I forfeit. No point in fighting a losing battle. You win."

Weiss was shocked as he strode off. Then she was angry. With a swing of her sword, a line of fire cut across the expanse of grass, colliding with one of the walls.

"Well, at least you had the sense to stop the fight before it got any worse. judging from that blast, you both would have ended up in worse shape than your companions."

The medic was looking them over, although from the looks of things they had barely broken a sweat. Weiss was seething, though she wasn't sure why.

'I won. I should be happy, right?'

But she looked over at Ruby, and saw that she had the same look of concealed rage as the medic looked the boy over, him flirting with her all the while. Yang and Blake had returned, and Blake seemed fairly calm now. Ruby had a recording of Weiss's fight, and would show it to them later.

"Looks like it's finally my turn!" Yang, on the other hand, was trembling with anticipation. Ruby felt a little sorry for her opponent, who looked much weaker than the others. However, Ruby wasn't about to denote her possible skills, since she knew nothing of the rabbit faunus.

"Yang, just remember, do not underestimate her."

"Stop worrying, Sis. I'm ready for anything."

'that statement is missing an 'almost', Yang.' Ruby thought to herself.

Yang readied herself, bouncing on her toes as she prepared to fight.

'I hope this doesn't end to quickly' she thought.

Her opponent was across a range of rocky terrain. The rocks themselves were all solid and stable, but had sharp points the protruded up from the ground.

...

...

...

"START!"

Yang immediately took off, launching herself across the difficult terrain as if it wasn't even there. Her opponent had drawn her weapons, silver plated pistols, from the holsters at her hips. A barrage of gunfire met Yang's approach, but she had ducked behind a boulder before her opponent had opened fire. As it ceased, she jumped, dual blasts launching her into the air, where she returned fire, fireballs flying across the open space towards her opponent, who sprinted sideways, the explosions going off behind her like an action movie reel. The girl's speed was incredible, not quiet as fast as ruby's but definitely up there, and Yang couldn't help being mildly impressed.

All the while, they continued firing at each other. Yang's weapon could do more damage, but her opponent's weapon had more precision. Yang was forced to constantly change direction as the bullets whizzed passed. She did what she could to get closer, but was unable to move within 30 feet without presenting herself as a target. She took cover behind a rock, occasionally jumping upward to send a blast in the girl's general direction.

The girl herself was acrobatic, moving speedily around the exterior wall, firing every so often to keep Yang in cover. Her shots were accurate, and several grazed over her aura when Yang returned fire. She was steadily working her way around to strike at Yang's side, and Yang herself had to constantly change position. She spent her first belts, and wasted several seconds reloading.

Quite suddenly, the faunus's fire was cut off. Yang risked exposing herself to look for the other... and saw nothing. She stepped out from behind the rock wall she had been using as cover, scanning the wall. There was no movement. A tingle on her neck was her only warning.

She lept up into the air, the rock next her being demolished by another hail of gunfire. Yang twisted in the air, striking out with her own shots. She hit the ground, rolled, and came up with her fists raised, considering looking for cover.

But she suddenly felt a tug on the back of her neck. She turned, seeing a tuft of gold sinking slowly towards the ground. One of her opponent's rounds had sliced through a small section of hair.

Yang couldn't hold it back.

She didn't want to hold it back.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

'Uh-oh' Ruby thought.

Yang charged her opponent head on, emptying her gauntlets as she did. Behind the newcomer, the wall that separated the terrains crumbled under the explosions. There were also several holes strung along a 25 yard trail of wall. Yang didn't care. As the weapons clicked empty, Yang reached her opponent, swinging hard with her left arm. To her surprise, it met empty air, and a knee buried itself into her gut.

Yang was shocked. Few people had ever got the drop on her while she was raging. That shock turned to anger very fast. A sharp right hook was met with a metallic clash as her opponent's weapons took on a different form, becoming twin Tonfa's.

The Elbow blade was a ritualistic weapon created by a tribe of nomads in the southern plains of the world. They were some of the few who managed to live their lives among the Grimm infested wild lands. The weapons consisted of a rounded handle that connected to the side of a blade, rather than the bottom. The handles could be spun in hand to create a whirling blade, and talented individual could use them to form an iron solid defense against harm.

Yang's gauntlet was redirected, the punch turning her body sideways and opening her up to a solid retaliation kick to the side. Yang grunted, but in her rage she couldn't find a reason to care. Yang screeched as she swung, but her hits continued to be redirected, resulting only in glancing blows. Meanwhile, her opponent continued to land solid kicks. At one point, Yang grabbed her leg, lifting her into the air with the intent to throw her. However, the girl twisted around and lashed out, her foot kicking Yang across the face and snapping her head to the side.

Yang was forced to let go as her body was twisted with the force of the hit, turning in a full circle just in time to catch the next incoming strike with her crossed gauntlets. Each hit fueled her rage that much more, and Yang dove into it as much as possible. Her arms became blurs as she continued to throw punches, her attacks constantly blocked or redirected by the girl's weapons.

Finally, Yang threw a left as hard as she could. The Tonfa, instead of redirecting it, hooked onto the gauntlet, twirling as it forced Yang's arm straight up. A brief opening formed for both girls, and they swung simultaneously. Yang's fist found purchase in her enemy's stomach, while a savage kick snapped her head backwards. Her mind suddenly went fuzzy, her anger bleeding away as she felt a hand on her throat.

For a moment, the newcomer had her, fingers encircled around her neck. She could feel her anger bleeding away, disappearing. Suddenly she was so very, very tired. She collapsed. The newcomer was weaving on unsteady feet. Yang, through rapidly closing eyes, saw the girl as she tried to take a step, and hit the ground.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The medic was silent this time. The girls had been brought out on stretchers, both of them unconscious. They were still unconscious. Yang's injuries had been minor, but the new comer had received a hit the equivalent of being run over by a two ton truck. Between the multiple hits Yang had taken, on top of whatever the newcomer had done to her in the last second of the match, and the one hit to the stomach, both had taken enough damage to wholly deplete their auras, as well as a significant amount of their physical energy.

"... Well, for now, they are both just sleeping. They should wake up soon... I don't think I've ever seen such a savage display... Try to keep them from killing each other when they wake up. Yang looks like the type to hold a grudge."

Blake and the feline were each crouching next to their respective partners. Blake nodded in response to the nurse's statements, but the other one seamed wholly engrossed in her friend's well being. Ruby saw a hint of remorse and longing in her face, as well as the telltale signs of worry.

"So I guess that means I'm up." Ruby was quiet. Everyone was shocked by the last round. Jaune had declared it a a win for the rabbit faunus, since she had remained standing slightly longer. Judging from the condition both fighters were in, Ruby was quite willing to question that call.

She turned to the leader of the other team, who was watching over his team mates. His face had softened significantly. He looked quite a lot like her father whenever he had worried about her and her sister.

"Do you still wish to continue?"

Ruby flinched. His voice was soft, and had a twinge of regret to it. Both sides were now regretting this decision. She was surprised he'd be willing to quit now, but judging from they way he watched the other two members, he was no longer wholly committed to this.

"Not really, but to be honest, if my sister wakes up and finds out I stopped fighting after she went down, things will get a hell of a lot worse."

"Alright then. How about we just spar in an open space. I'm afraid we destroyed their arena."

Ruby looked over at the remains of what had once been a state of the art arena. Now massive holes lined several walls, the grass section had been almost entirely obliterated by Weiss's lighting bolt, and what hadn't had been set on fire. The only sections still in fair condition were the woods, and if Ruby got in there, it would be destroyed as well, and the dunes, which would significantly limit her mobility.

"That works, I guess. The courtyard should work just fine."

"Alright then... my name is Zach, by the way."

He turned and walked off.

Ruby stood a good 65 yards away from her opponent, who had tossed his trench coat to the side. He wore a skintight black muscle shirt and loose-ish black pants with golden trim. On his back were 2 sword sheaths of peculiar design. From them he had drawn a pair of shot-swords, swords with shot guns built into them. The barrels of each were located along the back of the blade. The swords where curved like machetes along the inside, which was sharpened perfectly.

He held them in an unusual stance, one sword held to each side, blades pointed downwards, with his feet spread and knees bent, as if he was a football player. Ruby was sightly worried because two sword fighting could be adapted to many different styles. His current stance meant he could switch between styles on a whim.

Jaune had ordered soldiers to set up thick barricades around the section of grass they planned to use. Two small camera drones orbited the makeshift arena, since it was too dangerous to try and watch from above.

Ruby readied herself, scythe pointed backwards to allow for instant lift. Zach remained where he was, closing his eyes as his feline ears pointed in her direction.

"START!"

Ruby pulled the trigger, and was off as Crescent Rose propelled her through the air. As she neared Zach, she swung hard, figuring he would dodge, and she planned to use her momentum to get away.

Instead, Zach simple ducked under the blow, body bending backward at an incredible angle, knees curling so that his shins touched the ground. As the blade passed over his head, he pulled his own triggers. The shot swords went off, and he was pushed backwards. He spun, inches above the ground, and landed on his feet, stopping his momentum in seconds.

He charged forward, his swords coming in at a dual slash on Ruby's exposed side. She jumped into the air, firing again, and flew sideways. A quick spin of her scythe and she was back on her feet. But her opponent was right behind her, swords coming down on her front. She blocked with the length of Crescent Rose, and fired again.

The scythe threw her sideways, the curved blade making to cut Zach in half. But Zach ducked again, this time kicking upward with one leg, which connected with the armored section of her scythe's blade. The hilt spike on the other end of her weapon dug into the ground, and she was unceremoniously pole vaulted over her weapon. Suddenly, she was air born, the kick having disrupted her direction. She hit the ground, rolling as she was forced to release her hold on Crescent Rose. She jumped back up, assuming an unarmed fighting stance.

Zach made no move to take advantage of the opening, however. He was standing next to Crescent Rose, which he picked up and tossed to her.

"That's pretty heavy. I'm surprised."

Again. Even though it seemed innocent, his framing of the words dug at Ruby. She breathed, and then re-initiated the attack. Her blade swung across the distance between them, and this time, looked like it caught him off guard.

The blade connected with him, throwing him sideways. He hit the ground rolling, dirt and some ice floating in the air from the late freeze. But he regained his feet almost instantly. She rushed him, her scythe a blur in the misty air, snow being thrown in fans by the force of wind coming off it. Zach gave ground, blocking only when necessary. The clang of metal and the smell of gun powder filled the air. Zach's face, during their fighting, lost it's smile, and was now sharply focused.

Her Scythe's blade was too fast and strong for him to block flat out without expending precious energy, so instead he used his blades to knock it off course. Because of this, he sustained numerous small hits, but avoided the major damage. During one particular motion, he saw an opening, and exploited it, kicking her leg as it pivoted, forcing her to trip forward as he directed the same foot upward, kicking her up and back. But at the last moment, she twisted in the air, her scythe clipping him under the chin and sending him in the opposite direction.

Ruby hit the ground hard, going into a tight roll and hitting her feet forcefully. Her scythe raised to block an incoming strike. But Zach was laying flat on his back, on the other side of the arena. And he was laughing. He carefully stood, seemingly shaken, stumbling a bit as he laughed aloud.

As he straightened, he rolled his shoulders, his laughter fading as he said "that hurt. You pack a punch, little sister."

His words rolled over Ruby, and she began to shake. To be honest, he was slightly older than her, probably by a little over a year. Judging from that, he had entered Beacon at a later age than most. But still, no one but Yang was allowed to call her sister, and 'little' was an insult she would not stand for. She charged again, letting her semblance overtake her body as she blurred through the space between them. In half a second she had crossed the 20 yard gap, Crescent Rose whistling through the air.

It never made contact. Her opponent dissipated. There was nothing in front of her. She completed the spin, then fired her weapon, flying sideways and away from the area. A pair of blades slashed down behind her, missing by inches. She thrust Crescent Rose's tip into the ground, flipping over the handle and standing on the weapon. Zach stood motionless a few feet away from where she had aimed her strike. Her mind struggled to process what had happened.

'Is he, like the other one? But no, she had copied Blake's ability, and had left an after image. He had simply disappeared. Or had he? is it possible that... teleportation?'

Ruby's eyes narrowed. It was entirely possible that her opponent could teleport, in which case her speed would have to be her defense. If she could draw out the fight long enough, she might be able to develop his attack pattern, and respond to it.

She jumped off the back of her scythe, and pulled it out of the ground. This time, Zach initiated the fight, jumping in with opposing slashes. She spun her scythe sideways, seeking to block the strike, but he spun at the last moment, his swords colliding with the barrel of her scythe mid spin. The force stopped her spin, and to her shock, forced the scythe from her hands.

Recovering, she dropped down, lashing out with her foot, knocking him off balance long enough for for her to retrieve her scythe, swinging it forcefully at Zach. And he, unable to summon the force to kick away, instead fell backward and lay flat. Her scythe passed over him, and he rolled backward as far as he could, coming up on his feet with his swords out in front. Ruby was still standing away from him, breathing hard.

"How do you think this will end?" she called out to Zach.

"I don't know, but I'm sure we can find out." he called back.

"Alright then," Ruby growled to herself. She pointed her scythe backward. She had maybe half a magazine left in the weapon, while he had fired 4 shots from his swords. She would have to be careful. With a deep breath, she pulled the trigger.

Ruby was launched forward, but halfway through the maneuver, she redirected herself. Left, right, right again, left, one more to add some lift, last shot...

She had launched herself into the air, and used her last shot to put as much speed as she could behind her attack. She hurtled downwards, scythe high over head, and slashed down when she was only a foot or 2 away from her target. Once again, he had vanished.

But Ruby was ready for it. Before she could connect with the ground, she pulled a tight spin, scythe slicing through the air behind her, hitting something solid along the way. She rolled once, then caught herself on her scythe as she turned to face her opponent.

Zach had taken the brunt of the attack with his chest, and judging from the amount of blood coming from the rip in his shirt, he had somehow burnt through his aura within the last few minutes of the battle. He stood straight despite his wound. And he was laughing.

"You're the first person to mark me in a long time. I guess I underestimated you and your team. You win."

Ruby was shocked, not by his surrender, but by his injury. She had never seen anyone burn through their aura that fast. She stood and said "Are you alright?"

Suddenly panicking, she turned and called for the medic. Instead, the rabbit faunus jumped down into the makeshift ring, striding forward. She spent a few moments inspecting the wound, the placed her hand over the cut and muttered a few words to herself. As she did, the gash sealed, coming together at both ends and meeting in the middle. the blood remained, but other than that, he seemed perfectly fine.

Ruby continued to fidget and fuss despite his constant assurance that he was fine. finally, he said, "Relax, Little sister, it was my fault for not paying attention. my semblance is a massive drain on my aura."

For the moment, his words put her to rest.

"Well, I think you guy's deserve an introduction then."

The three teams stood together in the war room, which was now without the diagram table.

"As I told Ruby, my name is Zachary Nathan Xiao. These are my companions, Azure Bonny Williams, William Isaac Turner, although we just call him Billy, or Bill, and Lilly Jason Monroe, although she goes primarily by Jason. We were sent by Ozpin to help in any way we can. Despite the war, Beacon is still up and running, and Vale has become a refuge for those fleeing the destruction of the outer territories. At first, Jaune was reluctant to let us come out here-"

"That's an understatement. He reacted about the same as you guys did," Billy cut in.

"But after we helped to stop a full on invasion of Vale, he seamed to think we were more than capable. Hopefully, we have proven that to you. However, if you really feel like we have no place out here, me and my team can leave within the hour."

Bonny, the rabbit faunus, seamed reluctant to concede that, but Jason, the feline, simply nodded. Billy looked bored. Ruby considered for a moment, then shook her head.

"I still don't think you belong out here, but I'm not going to send you away. You have skill. Lets just hope its enough to keep you alive."


End file.
